Bikes!

AP and I are off to the lake this week. We leave on Monday morning, although, he's already down there "getting things ready". Mostly, I think that means that he's wakeboarding with our friend Dr. K, before we have a boat full of people and he ends up driving them.

While I am totally pumped about being at the lake, I am even more excited about our new purchase. Two hybrid, beautiful, fun BIKES! I don't think that I've owned a bike since I was 10 and my greatest trick was riding down our driveway with my feet on the handlebars. While we were in Hilton Head earlier this year we rented bikes for the week and it was fantastic. I found myself at the beach wondering when we could get on bikes again to ride to the next destination. So, with the help of Dr.Jeff, AP has been doing crazy amounts of research, until he found just the right bikes for us. The friendly UPS guy delivered them to our office yesterday in two gigantic boxes, and AP immediately started the assembly process. So, today I went and got a helmet and next week we'll be riding our bikes around at the lake. Then, we can ride them to work every day.

If you are a closet biker, or you know of any good Cinci bike trails, let me know -- I can't wait to start riding! It'll take some time, but I bet I could still put my feet up on the handlebars and ride down the driveway.

The Pain of Being Home ...

I cried most of the day today. I'm not sure why.

A Phone Call from Pastor Gladys ...

Some friends have been sharing pictures with me. Here is one of me and Nantaltnta:

I just hung up with Pastor Gladys in South Africa. She sounded so excited that I could barely understand who it was. Like a little kid who is frantically describing a day at Kings Island she rattled off about a dozen ways that God has been providing for our little African family.

She said that at church yesterday she introduced Gloria and the rest of the kids to the Charity and Faith congregation. She announced that they "should love these children like they are our own". Apparently the congregation immediately responded. At Gladys' house for lunch yesterday the kids received new shoes and school uniforms from the congregation. They had a meal together as a family and were able to celebrate and eat together. Little Brandon felt so loved that he did not want to leave the house. He planted himself on a chair with no intention of going anywhere.

Gladys says that she has talked to or seen Gloria each day since we left. Brandon has gone to the doctor and he's feeling great. Gladys is working with Maureen through the Social Development Center and the grant process is well underway.

Gladys says that when she looks at them she sees me and AP, and feels like she is loving us. I feel that love, and when I picture Gladys feeding and caring for those kids -- I see Jesus.

Gladys says that she'll see them again tomorrow, and I told her that we would talk on Wednesday for an update.

Glory to GOD!

A Thank you of Great Importance

Before we left Mamelodi on the last day, Maureen handed me a note.

From Sfiso's Family
Rachel and Endrew, we love you very much.

You have touched my life in gentle ways, and I do often think of all the special kindnesses you've shown.

You warmed my world in quiet ways, with care and with your understanding.

And that's the simple reason why there will be a place in my heart waiting for you.

And no metter how big this world can be, no place will be to far for me to be with you.

Think you for every thing

Sweet. Completely sweet.

An African Update

It's strange to be writing from the comfort of my own home. Not in the lobby of the Manhattan Hotel or on the floor of the Dubai airport. I have several updates for you on behalf of our African friends.

AP and I talked to Gloria yesterday. She has already met with Gladys and they are well on their way to becoming family. Brandon was sick yesterday, but thanks to Gladys, Gloria had the money to take him to the doctor and get him medical care. We talked to Brandon on the phone, too. He is still working on his English, so Gloria helps him know what we are saying and how to reply back. It is really sweet to listen to. Precious and Gonte (pronounced Hunte) got on the phone for a bit, too. Gonte was upset that he got on the phone last, but we made him laugh and he forgot all about that.

I just talked to Maureen this morning. She is back at work for the first time in two weeks. I could hear her coworkers in the background excitedly saying things like, "she's talking to Rachel from America." She asked for Gloria's phone number and said that she had already talked to the people at work including a social worker and they have a plan to help Gloria, Precious, Gonte, and Brandon. She was so excited to let me know that she was going to care for Gloria the way that I had cared for her.

Cecil and Maureen's daughter both went to the doctor yesterday. Cecil picked up his first dose of ARVs and the little girl got medical treatment for some really bad sores that were on her mouth keeping her from eating. Maureen told me that she has a broken heart. Witness left for boarding school the same day we left for the USA. I could hear her smiling even through the broken heart. She called our friendship a miricle -- I think that is an accurate discription.

AP and I have enjoyed barraging our friends with pictures of the trip and filling in the gaps that I didn't write about here on the blog. Thanks to our friends for countless hours of patient ears. We have many more stories to come. I'm just taking a little headspace to organize them all before writting. Please pray for us as the realities of life in the US explode back into our lives. It is a bit overwhelming.

Day 19 and 20 -- Back to the USA

On Day 19 when we woke up the hotel was a buzz with frantic packing and logistics questions. AP and I were a buzz with the crazy miraculous day that we got to witness on day 18.

Pastor Gladys came to the hotel to see us. She said that she talked it over with her husband the night before, and then with God. She let us know that God had laid it on her heart to care for Gloria, Precious, Gonte, and Brandon monthly forever. She actully said it with that much certainty. Forever. Then, Gladys showed us a text message that Gloria had sent that morning, just after Gladys said "amen". Gloria thanked her and asked if she would have us call before we left for the US. Gladys took that as confirmation that she was to care for them as her own children.

Gladys said she would get them food, check up on their schooling, get them shoes, give them a ride to church on Sundays, and put Gloria's family at the top of the list for a new house next year. AMEN!

We did talk to Gloria and each of the other children on the phone before leaving for the airport. They sounded entergetic, even happy -- and full of hope. And, they should be. They have a family now -- in the US and in South Africa people care about them who can make a difference. And we will.

Travel from JoBurg back to the US took about 35 hours. I slept most of it. I cried a little on the way home, but not out of regret. I feel like this trip was much better for me than the last one. I know, that's saying a lot. I feel like God challenged me in ways I didn't think that I was ready for. And then, He answered my prayers in ways I wasn't ready for either.

Day 18 -- Two Trips Collide

(This post is coming late due to internet failure at the hotel last night -- we're at the Dubai airport now.)

Today I went to see Maureen and Cecil in the morning. I took one of our gardening crews with me, and they planted several rows of kale and spinach in a small plot outside of her tin house. As for Cecil, he was enjoying his new favorite activity -- eating. Lots of peanuts! Maureen, Cecil, Witness and I hung out most of the morning taking lots of pictures and talking about what the next year will hold for them. It was sweet, and I was so thankful to be able to leave them with a garden, a warm blanket, and a couple of GO Mamelodi T-Shirts.

As the afternoon program got underway I found my Nelmapious friends and we had a great time. Sweet Thabitha (yep, that's how she spells it) brought me notes for the plane ride home, but asked me to read them right away. We had a good cry together as a group when they realized that the afternoon was ending.

As I prepared to put them on the bus home, I turned around and saw AP with Brandon on his shoulders. I'd never met the little orphan that captured AP's heart, but I could instantly tell why he did. Brandon flashed me a smile and I was sold, too. Then, AP introduced me to Gloria -- Brandon's 17 year old "sister" that is head of their household. I instantly started to cry. Suddenly, Brandon's story became a little more clear. I was thankful he has someone to look after him, sad that she's only 17.

From left to right: Precious (10), Gonte (6), Me, Gloria (17), Brandon (6) and AP:

While I was hanging out with Maureen this morning, AP went on a search to find Brandon and understand who cares for him. Through an amazing chain of events -- including about 5 people that pointed him in the right direction, AP found Brandon in the afternoon. He brought Gloria, Brandon, their brother Goente, and sister Precious to Charity and Faith for the closing service that we were having before we left. Gloria at 17 cares for all 4 of them -- and she is the editor of her school's magazine.

As we sat on the front row before service started, Gloria cried several times as she told me her whole story. It's hard for her to care for Brandon -- who is HIV positive. On one side of us was Gloria and her 3 siblings/children. On the other side was Maureen and Witness. Then, in a moment our two trips collided in a way that only God could have designed. Gloria told us that she has trouble getting care for Brandon and food for the family. I looked at Maureen and asked if she knew any way that Gloria could get help. Maureen looked at me with her face, now glowing and said, "Yes, I work at the Social Development Drop in Center. She can come to my work and I will walk her file through. She can get grants for school, food, and ARVs for Brandon." Maureen carefully wrote down all of the information for Gloria. She then took the paper and got on her knees in front of Gloria. She carfully explained what to do, and gave Gloria the paper. They both started to cry. AP and I started to cry, too.

This woman, Maureen who was so hard and disconnected the first day I met her was so full of love that she was able to care for someone else immediately. These two families that AP and I had fallen in love with over the past two weeks were now connected for a very specific purpose. It was beautiful.

After the service we got Brandon checked out by our medical team -- he had a clean bill of health. Then, in a true reflection of why we are in partnership with a local church there -- I introduced Gloria to pastor Gladys. Gladys is one of the Charity and Faith pastors that is like my African mom -- she is a mom to everyone she meets. Gladys heard the story of Gloria and promised to take care of them. Since then she has talked to Gloria several times. Gladys told AP and I right before we left on Saturday that she would care for Gloria and the other children as if they were her own. So today we leave with a lot of hope -- hope that Gloria and those three other children are no longer alone. Gladys will check up on them, and Maureen will navigate the system for them. I thank God for our partnership with Charity and Faith. Now, I know that Gloria, Precious, Gonte, and Brandon are going to get monthly support from Charity and Faith -- sopport that wouldn't get to them any other way. Even if we wanted to, AP and I couldn't care for them from the other side of the world with out Gladys' help.

And so, we took them home -- to a small one room tin shack with three beds. We hugged them and said goodbye. We cried, we prayed, we sang, we laughed, and then we shut the door and pulled away. I have a lot of hope for them. Somehow God found them in Mamelodi and He will provide for them.

Day 17 -- All that you leave behind ...

Today I saw this at the kids program:

It was a beautiful reminder that we're leaving something behind here, and I hope that it's not just T-Shirts. In case you don't know -- this is the T-Shirt from last year's trip. Tomorrow we hand out this year's version.

This is the line that kids waited in for an hour to get into the kids program:

And then, today I saw what we want to leave here. The crafts and the face paint are super fun, but all of those things will fade away. A relationship with the King of Kings will not. Today a little boy named Caraba came and got me in the middle of the organized chaos and took me to a table where 10 of his friends were sitting. He said, "Now, we pray for you -- what do you want prayer for?" I named a few things as the boys piled their hands on top of mine and prayed for me in Sutu, Zulu, and then English. I've never been prayed for in 3 different languages before. It was FANTASTIC!

Here are the boys praying for me:

Lastly, this is Nalntala, my buddy for the week:

We had a great day just paling around at the kids program. She has the funniest laugh of any human being I have ever heard. We've had a fantastic time hanging out for the past two weeks. She was one of the very first kids I met at the Nelmaphious branch last Sunday. If this whole week was just to make her feel special, then it was all worth it.

Here we are -- the last work day is tomorrow. I can honestly say that I don't regret a minute of this trip. I have been wiser and more discerning the second time around. I have spent my time on what really matters to me, to our partnership with Charity and Faith, and building into my team. Thank you all for supporting me in this time -- one work day left to go!

Day "What Day is it?" -- Oh yeah, 16! Crazy Healing!

I went to the original house where we found Cecil (which by the way, is not his real name -- his real name is Sbiso, sounds like Cecil and they just corrected us today). One of my team members, Bryan brought tiny IPod speakers and was letting all of the neighborhood kids dance to "Love Shack". I turned the corner and saw Maureen and Cecil at home -- in their shack. I may never hear the B52s the same way again. Today I saw "gontse" (that is Sutu for "enough, finished, complete" -- it just happens to be my South African name -- but I saw it today) in the healing of Cecil. He's at home and he's not the same kid I met a week ago. He can stand and I watched him smile for the first time today. Witness said that she saw him dancing yesterday.

Maureen is also a new creation. This woman who I thought may hit me when I first met her a week ago, today bought me a scarf. A beautiful one. It was her gift to me. I have to admit it did make me feel warm all over.

Today I saw Cecil eat two sandwiches, a bag of chips, a banana, two yogurts, a granola bar, a frozen fruit bar, and a bag of peanuts. Really, I saw him eat all of that.

Today I learned that as our shepherd, the Lord can literally keep us from fear. After spending a day with several people (including Maureen and Cecil) that are HIV positive I realized that I never once feared getting close to them, loving them, or holding them. I was able to see them as people with hopes and dance moves and humor. I saw them as friends. The nasty nature of the disease is that it defines people and in this case most of a continent. It promotes fear and isolation. No thanks. I'll take love and community.

Maureen is so full of joy that she grabbed a piece of chalk and enlisted the neighborhood kids in a few games.

This afternoon Maureen, Witness and Cecil all came to Charity and Faith to see the kids program. We did a video interview of the whole story and had had a lot of time to just sit and laugh with them. AP met them for the first time, and Maureen told him what a wonderful person I am. It is clear that she loves me. And I love her. She even told everyone that she wishes that I would adopt her and she could move into my house in the US.

My favorite photo taken by a child today:

AP and Timmy's visit to the adoption agency was good and bad. They scored the most informed person in the country to talk to this morning. However, US adoption from South Africa is not a possibility at this time, not maybe in the next 5 years. That didn't make me lose hope for all of those kids. God's heart breaks for them 100 times more than mine. He's on it, I'm sure.

We did hear from CSM. Camp is a BLAST! It's cold, but PO said they are having a great time.

Day 14 -- Nelmaphious & Day 15 -- Smoooooth

Yesterday we attended church at Charity and Faith's main campus. It was fantastic as usual. My very own sweet husband, AP gave the announcements! At crossroads they stopped asking him to do the announcements because there were too many white males up on stage all the time -- at Charity and Faith they were PUMPED to have a white male give the announcements. I was too enthralled to take a picture. I suppose the more and more I feel at home here the less I take pictures. I'll try to be better about that over the next three days. We danced and sang and listened to Pastor Titus preach about POWER. That how he said, too -- he said it in all caps.

After service we loaded up in our broken down Mercedes Mini Van taxis and headed off to branch churches. I elected to go back to Nelmaphious. That's the same branch that I randomly went to last week, I specifically went back to this week. Nelmaphious ROCKS. Really, they call it the Toi Toi church. That's the fight song that black South Africans sang as they marched against apartheid. It's both political and spiritual, like most things in the world. This specific church just happens to sing that song with more love and passion than I have ever seen any group of people sing any song with.

Nelmaphious Kids:

I hung out with the kids for the first half of the service. Then, I went into church (an old dusty tent) for the message. Elenor, Pastor Titus' wife gave the message. For the first time in South Africa I heard a pastor reveal things about her personal life -- she told a miracle story about her son being healed two years ago. It gave me a larger perspective of God moving in the Mamelodi hospital. I believe that he wants to heal the people there. That thought was backed up today when Maureen called me to let me know that she and Cecil are home from the hospital. The doctors could not believe how quickly he gained strength. I am going to visit them at home tomorrow, and hopefully our gardening teams can plant a garden there by the end of the week.

I like that Nelmaphious branch church -- there is something scrappy about being in a dusty old tent in the middle of nowhere South Africa that gives you the freedom to sing with your full voice and dance with every ounce of energy you can muster. Undignified. Holy.

After branch church we had lunch with the good people of Charity and Faith in a tent back at the main campus. Boy, those South Africans like their tents. Hey Crossroads North Peeps -- ever consider just pitching a tent and going for it?

AP and I elected not to stay with a host family last night. It is true that God even took some time to rest in the middle of a huge project, and we saw last night as our only opportunity to do the same. I went to bed at 8PM. It was sweet. I woke up with more patience and grace than I fell asleep with. Patience and grace are good when you are leading people.

This morning I took a trip to Trade Center with some kids leaders. We packed a taxi (again, picture an old rickety Mercedes) with Simba chips in all flavors -- including smoked beef, yum! We'll have snacks for the kids this week now -- yea!!!

Upon returning to C&F we attended the kick off service for the week. One of the president's cabinet members spoke and made some big promises about supporting the hospice and orphanage. He recognized that the local church was making an impact on the city and vowed to support it. This was a huge step in our work here. The government's funding could sustain many care programs that we have jump started. I pray he follows though.

After the program we set up and got ready for the first kids program of the week. I REJOICE that MANY of our regular state side Kids Club leaders showed up and took charge this week. It was the best kids program we've had here yet. At 1PM there was a line as far as you could see at the door of the church. In my mind we won before we ever got started. Kids felt exceptionally loved today. I ran around with my Nelmaphious crew at my feet all afternoon -- including Nonhalanhla (who told me just to call her Michelle because I failed so miserably at pronouncing her name), Thabitha, and a few really sweet girls who don't say much -- but smile a lot. Today Thabitha handed me a note. It reads:

"I love you Rachel and I can tell that you love us. I will cry on Friday when I don't see you again."

Me too Thabitha, me too.

Some things to pray for (Kate and Brian -- and anyone else):
The CSM kids are all here, but their leaders are tired, and some of them are sick (including PO). Please pray for them.

AP and Timmy are going on a mission tomorrow to Orphanages to diagnose the problem of international adoption of South African orphans to the US. Pray that they will get clear direction and answers. We have met many orphans here, and someone needs to fight for them. Here is one of them, Brandon -- whom AP met because his shoe was untied and Brandon humbly bent down to tie it. Later, AP found out that Brandon doesn't have a family. Someone needs to fight for Brandon to have a good home.
The gardening and kids teams go out to work in the informal settlements tomorrow morning for the first time this week.

Prayers Answered:
Sara -- Lucy got to go to camp today! She got a scholarship to go!
All the CSM kids are here.
Cecil's healing.
People focusing on the relationships, not the "work".

Day 13 -- A Shopping Safari

Week two peeps woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed today. Both week one and the two weekers that we still have with us had not yet experienced the game park. So, we all set off on a new adventure at 8AM.

Shopping at Chameleon Village was finished for me about 30 minutes after it started. Not that I was board, I just knew exactly what I wanted to get, so I power shopped my way though the place pretty quickly. Really, my favorite keepsakes from Africa are photos -- ones that AP and I take. You can't buy those at the market.

In our finishedness, we got fidgety and started to roam around the back part of the market place. We found a delightful food stand named Currey in a Hurry that served great coffee and really yummy snacks (I had about 6 snacks). Much further down the path we found a reptile house (like the one they have at the zoo). We paid R25 (that's about $3) to gawk at snakes and lizzards and then see a snake show. During the snake show we watched a crazy man handle the most poisonous snake in South Africa. Apparently, if it bites you your limbs will swell to four times their regular size and fall off. Well, at least that's what the guy told us.

We left the shopping village and headed off to the game park. It was a little chilly for the game drive, but our trusty guides had blankets for all of us. Sadly, we didn't see a lion. But, we did get to ride in the same van with the Littles, the Manuels, and Tim -- so that was fun! It was just the seven of us due to a numbers glitch. We had LOTS of room in the open air jeep to walk about and take pictures. Our guide wasn't planning on doing a tour, so we were a bit rushed. But, all in all -- it was a good time. My favorite part was when we sat in dead silence and watched a group of nearby zebra. I love those zany guys!

We got back to the hotel and 14 of the waylaid high school students arrived! They said that hanging out in the Dubai airport was "fun". I bet it was!

Pastor Titus from Charity and Faith addressed our group at dinner tonight and prepared the team for the week ahead.

Time for bed -- church in the AM!

I will not be writing tomorrow, we'll be at a host family's house. So, Monday night I'll have church, a host family, and the first work day to write about!

Day 12 -- Renewal

Today we took trip one to the Apartheid museum and then to the airport.

I went to bed last night before the logistics were settled, but it hit me like a ton of bricks today at breakfast when Krissy said, "Okay Rachel, you are going on the last bus to the airport so that they can drop you off at arrivals and you can receive the first plane full of week two people."

HUH? REALLY? LIKE THAT?

Yep, really, like that. In fact, the South African Air plane that week two arrived on is the same one that week one is taking back to the states.

I spent 5 hours at the JBurg Airport picking up our new team. It was great to see good friends that we purposefully asked to come on week two so that we would have something great to look forward to!

And so it begins again. We have fresh energy from the new team on the ground, new hopes, new dreams, and more relationships to build (oh, and some houses, too).

An update from the hospital: Maureen called me this afternoon to let me know that they had changed doctors, and that really worried her. Please pray for her to trust the doctor and for Cecil to show huge improvements under his care.

To the game park tomorrow! Pray we see a LION!

A few personal notes to the blog readers from comments:

Sara -- I have been hanging out with Lucy, I'll give her your message this week! Dora says thank you for taking care of her business!

Dave -- I received your wife myself. She has had dinner and hopefully is sleeping!

Day 11 -- Change

I'm writing this one just 30 minutes before we leave for the airport to take group one, and pick up group two -- crazy! I was so worn out last night I couldn't blog. Thank you for your patience!

Today I saw change, miracles of change.

The day started with me taking Krissy, Kelly, and Tricia to see Maureen and Cecil at the hospital. The hospital has done a 180 turn since the first day we were there. Now, the security guards let us in even when it isn't visiting hour, the nurses and doctors ask for prayer and all of the moms in the infant ward light up when we walk in. That's a big difference from the snubs we got four days ago when we walked in with Cecil.

We spend about an hour and a half in the ward praying big prayers of healing and recovery over the moms. There were babies with curled up fingers that relaxed, coughs that stopped and joy that over ran the place as we prayed. It was one of the most fulfilling experiences with our creator of my life. I held a little girl named Rachel that the mother said would not let anyone pick her up. She let me. Not only that, but she reached for me, and when I held her she laid her head on my shoulder. We prayed for about 10 babies and mothers, and their doctor. The joy in the room was tangible, instead of the sickness and sadness that was tangible the first day. God sent us with a bunch of joy for those people, and it overwhlemed them. We saw these mothers that we have gotten to know smile for the first time today. It was BEAUTIFUL! The pictures are on someone else's camera -- I'll get those when we get back to the states.

By the end of the day when two of our medical team peeps went back to check on Cecil and they walked in on all of the moms laughing and hanging out together. They called themselves sisters and said that this was the most blessed day of their lives. The babies were all alert and smiling for the first time. I lilke a good change miracle.

NEW Shoes:

This afternoon I watched as one of our team members gave a little boy his first new thing ever -- a pair of soccer shoes. The boy was so stoic all week, but when we put those shoes on him, tears of joy ran down his face.

Tonight we had a celebration of the goodness of what God has done this week. It ended with a baptism, and I was honored to baptize many of my team members including Susanna, Marianne, Sara and Lisa.

This week showed me that God claims things in this world that we think are impossible, and he makes them possible. We think that sick babies are sad, God sees an opportunity to heal. We see kids with no shoes, God finds a way for them to have the best shoes. We go from being totally warm and dry to all cold and wet -- God sees obedience and follows it with blessing.

Continue to pray for us -- trip two lands in a few hours!

Day 10 -- The Locals

No need for a $50 Baby Bjorn:

This is the way that South African moms carry their children. That is basically a piece of fabric that they "tuck" like a bath towel around your chest. This kid was a little too big, but the mom was so excited about teaching me how to do it. I definitely felt like a local today.

Mamelodi Street Festival: At this point when I come to a site where our kids teams are I hear "Rachel, Rachel!" The kids look forward to seeing our teams each day, and the people who are leaving this week are clinging to each moment they can.

Can I get a Witness???

Today we went and picked up Witness, so is the 17 teen year old who was caring for Cecil, that sick baby. She is leaving for boarding school tomorrow, and so she wanted to say good bye to him today. She was more of a mother to him than his own in the hospital -- she was giving him water and lovingly holding his hand. She cried when we left him. Witness is a hero to me. She told us about her dreams of becoming an actress and her favorite subjects in school. I love this picture of her in an inspired t-shirt.

Reading Time

Today at the school I saw children walk into their finished library for the first time. It was so wonderful to see them run their fingers over the books in the shelves and then start to pull down the books one at a time and take them over to the reading area. One little girl was just going down the shelf in order -- having one of our volunteers read her every book on the shelf.

900 Stong:

Today at the afternoon kids program we had 900 children. This is the main room at Charity and Faith during large group (boy, that's an understatement) story time. Large group time is a blast! Steve has been leading worship. For some reason I get the impression that it is more fun to sing and dance with 900 South African children screaming at the top of their lungs than it is for him to lead 7000 refined Cincinnatians. My very favorite song to sing with them this year is "Making Melodies in my Heart". It is their version of "Father Abraham". I just love to see all the kids with their thumbs up, elbows out, legs apart, knees together, bum out head back, tongue out singing, "Making melodies in my heart to the King of Kings." I hope all of you at home are trying it right now.

Eskimo kisses in South Africa:

This little girl named Nonhlanhla that I met at the Nelmaphious branch campus on Sunday has come to the afternoon program each day. She finds me within minutes of arrival and does not leave my side the whole time. She has the funniest laugh of any human being that I have EVER met. It's deep and loud and she laughs often. I love her so much. Today I introduced her to Krissy. Krissy could not stop laughing. We spent half an hour making her laugh any way that we could. Tomorrow I have to get video of her laugh.

One of the South African teenagers that I have been teaching photography to took the "Eskimo Kisses" picture. I taught her about taking pictures of moments and the thirds rule. She has taken some wonderful pictures! Maybe a photography class in on the horizon. Everyone save your old digital cameras.
Thank you all for continuing to read our blog -- we are having a blast. I did meet Kelsey's sister yesterday at dinner, thanks Nancy.

Amo -- Joy misses you and says that someday she would like to come to the US and see you.

Thank you all for your prayers. Please keep em coming. More photos are up at www.crossroadscommunity.net/go -- then click the picture link.

Day 9 -- Work Day Two

Cecil and Maureen:

This morning Krissy and I went to go see Cecil, the little boy who we took to the hospital yesterday. After searching the wards at Mamelodi hospital we found him, his very young looking mother at his side. She was very sick with the flu, but was gracious and thanked us for taking him to the hospital. When we asked what the diagnosis was she kept saying that the doctors hadn't told her anything. Thankfully, we had befriended a doctor on the way in who was impressed that we were in Mamelodi doing "good work". Krissy went and found him and he explained the chart to us. Diagnosis: severe malnutrition that would have led to death within the week, a chest infection, and a stomach infection. And, yesterday he tested positive for HIV.

His mother let us know that she is also HIV positive. She let us know that because he was able to go to the hospital, he is going to start ARVs. We were able to tell her about the hospice and the people there who can help her. I talked her though the ARV instructions and made her say several times her plan to pick them up each month and faithfully administer them to her children and herself. She gave me her phone number and I made plans to come back tomorrow to see Cecil. I am so glad we took the time to take him to the hospital.

Kids from Charity and Faith:

The kids program this afternoon was wonderful! The story of Noah's Arc and lots of singing and dancing. I snapped this picture of my favorite Charity and Faith kids just after the kids service ended. They were up on a balcony at the church yelling "Rachel, Rachel!"

Teen Night:

At 4PM we shoved the kids out door and let the teens in! Teen night was in full effect. Over a hundred teenagers showed up to enjoy pizza, Fanta and music together. The teens were SO MUCH FUN! We danced our booties off to worship music and these two girls in the picture taught me all of their sweet South African dance moves. We laughed and laughed and the girl on the left informed me that she was so full she "need to go fart" -- HILARIOUS! That didn't keep her from dancing like crazy! We were running short on time, because the kids have to start walking home before dark. In the last 5 minutes AP got up and gave one of the best messages I have ever heard from him. He challenged the teen boys in the room to treat women as precious daughters of God instead of prey when it comes to sex. The crowd was amening and praising the Lord though the whole thing. Fantastic.

The greatest joy for me today was seeing all of the kids team members celebrate wonderful mornings in the township and painting the orphanage. They were all so PUMPED UP about their days -- I just sat back, listened to stories and soaked it all in. GLORIOUS!

Day 8 -- Informal Settlements and The Mamelodi Hospital

Today was work day one. It is when we get dirty, get silly, and get to work. I started the day by pumping my team up. Today is the day that you can face the fears that you may have. You can engage in the community and take a step out on faith. I gave them one challenge -- when you see something that needs to be done or a kid that needs a hug DO IT YOURSELF. Don't wait for someone else to come along. God sent you.

The morning went great -- we sent the kids teams out to the gardening and construction sites and supplies were organized. I was feeling good. I was feeling like I may not have much to do. I was thinking -- YEA! I can play with kids. I waited until the last bus was about to leave to go into the informal settlements. As I was boarding, on of my leaders who was already on site called. "Rachel, it's Bryan -- we have a really sick kid out here. Can you get someone from the medical team to come out?" My immediate reaction was to say that there was nothing that we could do. But, that wasn't right -- there was. We have a pediatrician with us (one of Liz's residents) and a nurse from Cincinnati Children's. I had to take my own advice and just jump in. I got the doc and the nurse into a taxi and we headed to the site. When we got there the medical folks went to see the child. He is three but looks like he's one. It's a sad site, and the caretaker is a 17 year old neighbor. Not the mom, not the grandma -- a 17 year old with a big heart. The medical peeps convince her that he needs to go to the hospital. His eyes are moving but nothing else is. He lost the ability to walk a few days ago and his stomach is swollen. Witness, the 17 year old gets in the On the way to the hospital, the doc who is with us starts to feel a little nervous. We call Dr.Jeff in the states. It's 6AM, but he answers the phone (after I called 3 times). THANK YOU JEFF!!! We end up at Mamelodi hospital for the next three hours. Finally, he gets a file and gets into the system and starts treatment.

Here is the only shot I could take in the hospital:

Back at the ranch, it was kids program Day One. I would have never guessed, but here is the turnout:
I think that it was about 400 kids. We sang, danced, and made all kinds of crafts. It was pure joy!
The kids of Charity and Faith were in full force. Here are a few of them:
Check out my cameo on the trip blog today -- had to write there, so this one was short. We'll catch up tomorrow. www.crossroadscommunity.net/go

Day 7 -- Sunday at Charity and Faith Church

This morning as I was getting dressed I kept thinking of what I had to wear that would keep me warm. Not much was the verdict. So, taking a page from the South African's book I decided to pray about it. "God, could you please keep me warm at church today? I want to be able to enjoy the service." Simple, and I'm not sure how much faith I prayed it with. It seemed kind of silly, but hey -- what the heck.

As we walked into Charity and Faith the first set of eyes that met mine were Naye Naye's. She's the little girl that came to Cincinnati and stayed with Lori. Right away she raised her hands for me to lift her up. I put her on my hip and walked to a seat. By the time I was there all of the chill of the cold South African morning was gone. Prayer answered.

We had a great time dancing at church, and it was quite the workout holding a six year old. AP says "she's heavy -- I have no idea how you held her so long."After the singing and dancing and a few announcements I slipped out the back of the church to find South African Kids Club. It is a small room in the back of the church. The kids sit on the floor and one woman reads to all of them out of a Bible that we brought last year. I walked into the room and she handed me the Bible. I guess I was on. I took it, invited the kids to our program that is happening every afternoon this week and then gave a short talk on God as our shepherd. The kids had a blast, and we ended up hanging out in the sun for about thirty minutes until the main service got out. Here are some of them:
They loved to pose and see how the camera worked and we laughed a lot.

A few minutes later we loaded up the taxis (small buses) for a trip to one of Charity and Faith's nine branch campuses. We happened to go to Nillmapious. It is a tent church in the middle of the informal settlements. Will and Beth got in the taxi with us, and we were off. As we arrived I quickly pow wowed with Beth. I told her I was just going to hang out with the kids, and she asked if she could join me. Of course, I loved to have her along. We entered the small stone room that is their school as well as "children's church". I saw a familiar face -- Finnious who used to work at the hospice, but is now working as a teller at a bank. He was teaching the children. I watched Beth melt as she hugged her first child in the middle of the joyful nothing of the township. It was beautiful:


For the next hour and a half we sang and danced with the children. We prayed with them and Finnious told two great stories. The kids played with our hair and tried on our sunglasses. This is my Africa. It is the kind of place that time gets lost for the beauty of a relationship. Both Beth and I teared up several times. I'm not sure if I was more weepy about being with the kids or seeing Beth with them. Both were fantastic.



As service ended I happened to touch the back of a boy in an orange shirt that was sitting next to me most of the morning. I just felt skin and bones. My heart sank. I looked at this face. Those sad eyes and sunken in cheeks brought to mind only one question. "Are you sick?"

"yes."

"What kind of sick?"

"I have the disease."

No. Not these kids. Somewhere in my brain I know that many of the kids we meet are HIV positive. But the hope that it steels from a country that is full of faith is devastating. The boy laid his head in my lap and I think that we both started to tear up. I rubbed his frail back and he smiled a big smile. This is the face of AIDs, but it shouldn't be. There shouldn't be a face of AIDs.



Church was over so everyone came out of the big tent and we spent some time taking pictures with kids. While the kids have ALWAYS loved playing with my hair, this year they have noticed AP's short cut, too. They all want to see what it feels like:



We said some long goodbyes and headed back to Charity and Faith.

There we had lunch and gave tours of the campus to the 300 trip participants. Then, we matched people up with their host families for the night. Some of us aren't staying in the township tonight. We thought it was best if we get a full night of sleep before our first work day tomorrow. So, AP and I are safe and warm at the hotel. We'll spend the night in the township next week.

Thank you all for your comments. I feel like you are here with us, like we have our own personal cheering section back home. We are one third of the way finished today -- 14 days to go. I'll try to capture every beautiful moment to share with you. Love you friends.