Good Days...

As many of you know from my newsletter and other correspndances, I have had my share of up and down days since being here. I wanted to share with you how good God really is. I have had a wonderful week and it is all because of the people here who God allows me to spend time with! Last Saturday we had a "Ladies Tea" at our house. Tea time is a new thing to we Americans, but is something that I will be bringing home with me! We invited all of the ladies from church to our home Saturday afternoon for tea and biscuits (cookies, cakes, etc). I would say about 15 ladies came and we had a ball! Judy had baked almost the entire day prior to the tea and we had an amazing array of sweets. The ladies simply enjoyed being together and one another's company. Transportation is a huge hinderance for the members of Gelvan Park as I would venture to say only about 20% of the congregation have a car. This prevents people from spending as much time together as they would like. That afternoon we proposed and established a "Ladies Day Out" that will occur on the first Saturday of every month. We will meet and simply spend the day together. 3-4 ladies will rotate turns organizing the day. Everyone has expressed how excited they are about this time we will get to spend together. On Sunday we had our regular meeting that morning and then a city-wide sing a long that afternoon. It was a busy day as our team was invited to Auntie Jayne's home for her birthday. We went directly from church to her home for a braai and then spent the afternoon with her family until the sing a long. African gatherings often include tea and sweets and the sing a long was no exception. After singing I believe we served about 150 people tea and sweets. The coolest part of the whole day for me was after all was said and done. As you can imagine, a pretty good mess was left afterwards and we jumped in to help clean up. The young kids from church also joined us. Together we did the dishes and cleaned the kitchen allowing the ladies who usually do it a chance to sit and enjoy visiting with each other. Africans love to sing and boy did we sing! We sang everything from church songs to Christmas carrolls while cleaning that kitchen! At the end, the kitchen was sparkling and a good time was had by all. Times like this with our family make me wonder how I can even acknowledge the bad days that come. God is so good to remind us how much He loves us through those around us if we'll just open our eyes and see. After three months the new is wearing off and I finally feel like I am getting to know my family here. This to me, is what I am enjoying the most. I am so looking forward to sharing the next year or so with people I am falling more in love with every day! I would encourage you to spend time with the people around you, not simply in passing or for an hour twice a week but really make time to share in one another's lives. I promise, you won't be disappointed.

Schools

Hello again,
So much has been going on it is hard to know where to begin. As of now we are officially busy. We, as in the entire team are doing various works including several at local primary schools. We are working with two currently and are looking to add one more if our schedules will allow. While we are at the schools we are doing various things from reading with the kids, teaching them multiplication tables, teaching them art and music as well as trying to produce a yearbook for them. Logan is busy as always will his many skills and talents on the technology end. We are currently taking individual pictures of all of the children, something they have never had before. We will use those pictures for the yearbook and also for the school to keep on record. Two children were missing two weeks ago, and the school had no way of identifying them. It is a very exciting opportunity. Brittney and I are still helping Lisa with the clothing ministry which is going very well. We have spent the last two weeks sorting clothes, washing and sorting various articles. We have also gotten involved with the youth from the congregation that they attend and that has been a real blessing. Abraham is one of the youth's older brothers, but has turned into a regular at our house. He and Johnathan get along really well and are becoming good friends. He just seems to fit around here which is great! School is back in session at the universtiy which limits the time we spend with our friends who are students. They are good about letting us know when they have off and we do our best to catch up with them then. Erin had become one of my best friends and someone I really enjoy spending time with. Having friends outside of the team is good, it makes us feel normal and that we are actually living here. This past week we made a presentation at a school for "Women's Day," a national holiday. We made a video that spoke about some of the emotions women/girls experience and then interviewed some men that we respect and took their view on how women should be treated etc.. It went well, although was a little too mature for the audience. We were attempting to reach the mothers, but even so it may have been a little much. A lesson learned. This coming week, the boys are presenting a lesson during assembly time at the high school where Erin's mother teaches. They actually get to do a biblical lesson and then are able to spend the day teaching the gospel to rotating classes. I am really excited for them!
It seems like things are starting to fall into place. It is starting to feel more like home. We miss everyone tremendously, but are falling in love with the people here. This week has been challenging for me, I am actually sick. For those of you who really know me, that is no surprise I'm sure. I have a sinus infection, and both of my ears are infected. Bummer. I made my first trip to the doctor and while I was a little dissapointed, I was also relieved that he wasn't a witch doctor! I felt very safe and had a very plesant experience. I am on some good ol' antibiotics and am beginning to feel better. Please keep our team in your prayers as we seem to pass sickness to each other. Please feel free to ask any questions about what we are doing or send suggestions and comments. I love to hear from everyone! Also, the new AIM class begins today, please keep them in your prayers as their adventure begins!

With Love,
Lindsay