This is Africa and I wouldn't have it any other way

I'm sitting writing this blog in the middle of a typical African thunderstorm. After enjoying a morning and afternoon of glorious sunshine, with very little warning I'm now sitting looking out across the sky as bolts of lightning strike the ground all around me. Rain is pouring down and it's blowing a gale to say the least. I find it quite hard to believe that I was in the swimming pool with the kids only an hour again. This as they say is Africa and I wouldn't change it for the world. Speaking with Rob we both agree that while South Africa is enduring many hardships such as the AIDS crisis, poverty, a corrupt government etc that's what makes this country what it is. It's because of these things that make the people like they are- friendly, warm, inviting and so loving. I come across countless people everyday who have very little, yet what little they have they would willingly share with me even though they don't know me. Then I come across the gas station pump attendant who will allow us to put 5 litres of diesel into our car which has run out of diesel even though we have no money so we can get home.That was a funny moment. Rob and I went to pick some bread from the supermarket, we knew we had very little fuel but we thought we would get there but nope as we came out of the supermarket the car just died. Neither of us had any money, but we managed to persude the petrol guy to give us 5 litres and then we would go back later with the money. Not convinced that would happen in England.

Anyhoo have had more exciting times with the kids these past few days. On Wednesday I took more of the kids shopping for new clothes. One of the boys I took was the little boy that I mentioned in my last post- the one who I thought would die before I got back out to South Africa. He has no idea what we were doing, he looked so worried in the car, I think he thought that I was taking him back to the hospital. But once we got past the hospital he perked up a bit. When we got to the shopping centre he was still rather confused (his english is still quite bad, I don't think he understood what I was saying) so I plonked him in a trolley (he literally walks like less than 1 mile an hour) and we headed off to the shops. I kept picking out clothes and showing them to him and he again just looked confused. It was quite comical bless him. This child is nearly 5 and he wears clothes size 18-24 months!!! Eventually when I had picked out lots of clothes for him to try we went into the fitting room and then he realised what we were doing. As soon as I told him to take off his t shirt and try a new one he started grinning from ear to ear, the penny finally dropped. We tried on lots of clothes (t shirts are like less than £1) and then went to find him some shoes. As we were walking around he was clutching onto his piles of new clothes for dear life. When we finally went to pay I saw relief in his face- he knew they were now his. By this time we had only been shopping for about an hour but he was finished. He looked so tired bless him. So I got him some ice cream and we went home. By the time I got back to Rehoboth he was fast asleep and looked as though he was in absolute bliss without a care in the world. Good times. Speaking of good times, here are a few more pics of the kids- you wouldn't believe how much some of them have grown and developed in only 8 months!

We had a few birthday's this week. The boy below only arrived at the village a week ago and he's already had his first every birthday party. He looked so happy the whole time.

This little beauty is the "premie" baby that arrived shortly before I left in March (picture of me with her in one of my older posts in Feb/March). At only 2.5kg at 4 months, she was very small, but look at her now celebrating her first birthday! Also huge news in that she is actually also HIV negative- praise God!

On Wednesday night I got to see the kids dance in a show. The school children get hip hop dance lessons once a week. Every single child has such an amazing sense of rhythm, but they are all so unique in the way they dance. I was so proud of them when they were dancing. After the performance there was a presentation as all of the children in the show did dance exams this week. All of our children passed and one even got a trophy for "best hip hop grade 1". He didn't know he was getting the trophy so he was so shocked when they called his name. Again the feeling of pride was overflowing inside.

On Thursday night I met up with more friends at my old cell group. I've missed those guys so much. They're all just so chilled and relaxed, they have a great effect on me. Even though we had no power because of the storm we just sat and chatted. It didn't feel like I had been away from these guys for 8 months. It felt so normal. Made me realise that I really don't make it a big enough priority to stay in contact with these guys. Who can guess what my new year's resolution will be....

An emotional reunion

Finally I got to see my beautiful children, after 8 months of thinking about them and longing to be with them every single day. The reunion was awesome. I just rocked up out of the blue, walked along to where they were all playing together and just casually said “hi guys”. They looked up and said “hi” back and then looked away. They then did a double take saw that it was me and all came running up to me screaming “Auntie Lindsay”. Is was just so awesome. They were hugging me and telling me how much they had missed me and how happy they were to see me. For the first time in a long while I felt completely relaxed and insanely happy. I was home, I was with my kids. After that reunion I had many more with the younger children and all the mom’s. Each time I went into a house and saw the kids they recognized me straight away and came running. I would then move onto the next house with all the kids in tow until I finally reached the last house with more than 30 kids by my side. It was such an emotional reunion and I managed to hold it together until the very last house. When I left South Africa in March I left a little boy dying in the local hospital. He had multiple infections, we thought he was in final stage AIDS and would die. When I said goodbye to him I really though that was it. I was even praying that God would have mercy and take that little child to be with him in heaven. But he survived, he is now happy and relatively healthy. So for me to see him again was just so amazing I just burst into tears. My little boy is still here, my little boy is happy, my little boy is no longer in pain. God did have mercy on that little boy, He did heal Him. He is a walking, living miracle. Yesterday I had the immense pleasure of giving him a little motorbike. He was grinning from ear to ear when I told him it was his.

I still can’t get over how much some of the children have changed. More than 3 of the toddlers who were just starting to crawl when I left are now running about laughing and chatting away. The older toddlers are speaking very nicely. I can sit with them and have a proper conversation. The school kids have matured and the shy ones are starting to come out of their shells. When I walk into devotions in the morning the kids all come running up to me wanting to grab my hand. This morning I could hardly move there were so many of them around me. I sit with at least 3 children on my lap and countless others either side of me and in front of me. The feeling of love is awesome, I never want it to end. I couldn’t possibly describe how much I love each and every child. I love them as if they were my own and I will never stop loving them. Being back with them shows them that I haven’t forgotten about them. When I left in March I told them all that I would think about them and pray for them everyday and that someday I would return to see them. I don’t think they 100% believed that until I arrived on Saturday. Now they know that I will never forget about them and that I do think about them everyday. These kids have endured such hardships in their small lives before coming to Rehoboth. False promises have made it difficult for them to trust people. I have always said to the children that I will never break a promise, I haven’t yet and never will. Most of you know that I have been sending out birthday presents to all the kids while I’ve been home. It has cost me a small fortune but I’ve seen the rewards. I always send a card with a picture of me and the child along with a present so that they will always be reminded of what I look like. The cards I send are up on the pin boards in all the houses. It was so touching going round the houses and seeing the pictures up there. Now I know that while they are sitting eating dinner they can look at the picture of me and know that I love them with all my heart and that even though I am far away they’ll always be in my heart. I will never forget them, they are my children and I am so unbelievably privileged to be a part of their lives.
It’s been so great seeing all my friends again too. Had a huge emotional reunion with an amazing friend called Reece at church on Sunday morning. She is such an awesome friend, I’ve missed her so much. We ran into each other’s arms and hugged for ages. I didn’t want to let her go. But I did as we had to continue with the service. Then near the end of the service while we singing the benediction Reece’s son appeared out of no where, wrapped his arms around my leg, gave me a huge hug and ran off again. It was so lovely. Then last night I met up with about 15 more friends and had dinner with them. We sat and chatted all evening just like old times. Most of the guys are in a band together so they were practicing in the background. They are all such amazing musicians and make truly inspiring music, was such a privilege to sit and listen to them. Hoping to have many more evenings like that before I leave.
I’ve quickly got back into the swing of things here, I’ve been working in the crèche playing with the toddlers and pre school kids, whilst giving the babies lots of hugs (such a hardship!). I’ve also had the pleasure of taking some of the kids out shopping for new clothes. Yesterday I took one of the new little girls who has probably never had clothes bought for her in her life. Everything she chose was so pretty and girly, most of it pink. The smile on her face got bigger and bigger as our time together went on. She was in absolute bliss. It was so lovely to see. Today I took one of the maid’s (Busi) children out shopping for school clothes. I decided a while ago that I would pay for her to go to the same school that the Rehoboth children go to. I knew that Busi could never afford to send her to school and knowing what that family has been through in the last few years I just knew that this beautiful little girl needed someone to give her a chance to make something of her life. So we shopped for school clothes, a bag, shoes, pencil case, lunch box etc. Again she looked as though she was in absolute bliss! I showed her mum everything I had bought and she just broke down in tears. I could see in her eyes relief as well as joy knowing that her child now has a chance to really make something of her life and hopefully avoid going through what her mother has gone through. I must have only spent about 40 pounds on her, if that. Such a small amount of money that has made such a huge difference. Think we could all learn a little from the experience I had today.

Honey, I'm home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm back on the Southern Hemisphere!!! Woop Woop!!!
Right now that's out of the way, let's get cracking! Or not as the case may be. I'm currently sitting at the computer in my pyjamas with a cup of tea, blogging without a care in the world. Looking out the window the sun is shining, the sky is blue, there is a slight refreshing breeze, what more could I ask for!
My flights yesterday were fine, no major issues, just slightly delayed leaving Amsterdam. The business class lounge was an absolute joy. Just sitting around, munching on caramel waffles with a cup of tea, it was quiet and relaxed. I looked insanely out of place in my baggy pants and comfy hoody, but no one actually seemed to care. On the plane I had all the leg room I could possible hope for, it was chilled and relaxed. Food wasn't great I have to say, but hey at the end of the day I'm here and that's all that matters. Now the next adventure will be negotiating Joburg airpoirt once more and getting down to Durbs tomorrow. Then it will be reunion time. Can't wait!
Apparently the internet cafe which I used to blog the last time is no longer there, so I'll be on a mission to find somewhere else on Monday! Wish me luck!
L
xx

Deja Vu

Well here I am again about to embark upon yet another epic trip to my beloved South Africa. After being home now for 8 months I just couldn't wait any longer. I miss Rehoboth so much, I miss my beautiful children so much, I miss my awesome friends so much and I miss a country that will always hold a special place in my heart.
Looking back over the posts I did during my 6 month stay I am reminded of how amazing God is, and how amazingly blessed I am to be able to go back. Yes, I'm only going for 3 weeks, but that doesn't matter. This time round I'm even more excited. I don't have any nerves (apart from nerves about flying), I'm just so eager to get to Durbs, get in the car, get down to Rehoboth, drive through the gates, jump out of the car and run into the arms of my kids who don't know I'm even coming (hoping it will be a nice surprise for them). My kids whom I've thought about every single day since I left. I often sit and wonder what they are up to. I can't wait to see how much they've grown in 8 months. Some, I know will be barely recognisable but in a good way. A good way because when they arrived at the village they were malnourished, covered in scabies, unbelievably unhappy and severely underweight, but now they are flourishing, they are settled, they are happy, they have literally had a fresh start at life.
That's what I think I'm looking for in a way- a fresh start. I know it sounds weird but I kind of feel like I've been in limbo for the past 8 months. Don't get me wrong I am happy in myself, I am happy in my job and I do feel very blessed but I just feel like something is missing. Because of this, I'm not sure of my future at present. I'm constantly putting off making any firm commitments as to whether I'll be effectively "setting up camp" here in the North East for the forseeable future. Something is holding me back. I feel like this trip is a chance for me to be quiet and listen. Away from the busyness of work, friends and family I can just completely relax and take time to see where I go from here and I have to say I'm rather excited by it all.
So now I've rambled on for far too long, I'm off to do the packing. I'll be updating as much as I can depending on internet availability with pictures and stories. Happy reading.

L
xx