Don't bury your head in the sand unless there's a thunder storm...

So another week has gone by- that’s five here at Rehoboth and 7 in South Africa! Oh my word how time is flying! Before I know it it’ll be April and I’ll be thinking about leaving for home!
We’ve had a bit of a topsy turvy week. On Monday evening we had just finished dinner and all of a sudden there was a very loud bang, a blinding flash of light, the switches sparked and the power went. From then on we witnessed the power of God in the form of a huge thunderstorm. It was tremendous- I’ve never experienced anything like it. We sat outside out accommodation and had a 180 degree visual of the show. There was fork lightning which struck left right and center- you didn’t know where to look next! Scatter lightning permanently lit up the sky and the noise was deafening at times. It was so fascinating and for a full 2 hours we sat and watched in awe. On Tuesday morning we heard that one of the first hits of the lightning struck down here at the village. It didn’t just hit anywhere though- it hit the main power box by the front gate hence why there was a rather loud bang and why we still had no power! Eventually at 10.30pm on Tuesday evening most of the power to the village returned, however as we then realized that another one of the power boxes had been hit which just so happened to supply out accommodation so that had to be fixed which took til late Wednesday afternoon- so not one but two cold showers for Lindsay! Boy do I appreciate electricity more than I used to! It kind of serves as a good reminder that after all we are in Africa and problems here take a little more time to be sorted than at home. It doesn’t help that most of the power cables and boxes are above ground and therefore vulnerable. At least however we are all safe and well. No one was hurt only material possessions we damaged which can of course be replaced. God really protected each and every one of us at the village so this week we’ve had a lot to be thankful for!
Yesterday I had fun dressing up and dancing with all the older school children. I put on some worship music and the girls did some beautiful dancing. Their African roots really show through when they move. They absolutely love to show off and perform- if I’m not constantly taking photos of them they start to get annoyed with me!

I think those photos capture so much beauty and innocence in each individual child. They live here surrounded by so much love and protection. By the grace of God they have been brought here and saved from a potentially short and abusive life. Unfortunately we can only care for the children brought here- there are so many who are still out in the community who desperately need our help not just from us here at the children’s village but from the world. The South Africa government has literally just buried their heads in the sand. They refuse to acknowledge the problem and moreover because of this they are so illeduated on the subject of HIV/AIDS. Firstly the President of South Africa believes that there is no link between HIV and AIDS. The Dep slept with a prostitute who he knew had AIDS and then said that because he took a good shower afterwards that he would be fine. Then finally the Health Minister advises those already infected to eat lots of garlic, lemons and olive oil. Completely shocking. If the government refuses to do something to help all these people in desperate need of help then I’m afraid it is down to us. That doesn’t mean that I think we should all be out on the mission field nor do I think that everyone should be throwing money at the problem. We all just need to take time to think about these people and most importantly pray for the situation. If God wants practical help from you then he will most definitely tell you and not stop telling you until you do something about it. If God just wants you to pray then please pray. Pray that the government would wake up and stretch out a compassionate and helpful arm to all these people in need. Pray for all the researchers who are desperately trying to develop new treatments. Pray for all the people affected by HIV/AIDS that they would try to help themselves by taking their drugs regularly and by leading more healthy, non-promiscuous lifestyle. Pray for all the volunteers and missionaries out here trying to make a difference that we would have the strength, encouragement and compassion to continue with God’s work and hopefully make some difference to the lives of the people here who so desperately need our help…..