Grace at Graceland

These boys are too cool for their own good...or so they think. They are part of Graceland, a small Christian preschool that I am volunteering at. They are full of energy and joy! Every time I see them they are trying to teach me Afrikaans. Needless to say they are learning better than me. The children at Graceland live a simple life in a beautiful valley surrounded by vineyards and orchards. Some have quite sad stories, but they are continually full of laughter and smiles. It is an amazing expereince to work with these precious little ones.

Just this past week...

Last Wednesday, I traveled outside of the city to the beautiful wine country. I arrive at a small preschool tucked away in a peaceful valley. The children are precious and anxious to show me what they are doing for the day. I am struggling some with the language barrier. But nonetheless, they have my full attention. The stories of their home life threatens to bring me down but I am reminded about the amazing teaches who pray over the children and do their best to show the love of Christ. Thank you to these hard working ladies who give selflessly!

Hope

Many days it seems difficult to see all of the hurting and troubles lives. Even with the children that I see each 


week. Many of their stories about their lives are so sad and I wonder what will become of them. But I am encouraged by this 


scripture. It reminds me that the Lord dose have plans for their precious lives i may not see the results of the love that has 


been poured out upon them daily but the Lord does have great plans for their lives! Thank you Lord for the hope that You 


give us daily! 

¹ For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. ^[b]

Jeremiah 29:11-14

Represent, represent U.S.A

With great excitement and hopes that our boys would bring it on home, I tuned in last night to the U.S. versus England. Way to go boys! Keep up the spirit of the red, white and blue!

World Cup Madness

If anyone has been following the World Cup games, you have probably seen that there is quite a bit of excitement here in South Africa. The South Africans are proud of their team and country. I don't know that much about soccer but have tried to have an upbeat attitude about it. On opening day(Friday) my housemate, Tiffaney and I decided to join a group from church and venture down to an area that they call the Waterfront. We parked and walked and walked with a large crowd of people to get to the big TV screens that were everywhere. There were hundreds of people with painted faces and jersey's representing their home country. There was literally no space to even walk. People were yelling and blowing their vuvizellas(a big horn) and cheering in anticipation of the game. Much to our dismay, there wasn't a space to even rest our weary feet and watch the game too. So we trekked back to the car and went to a friend's house to watch the game. Of course it was a tie and Mexico and South Africa showed their skills! Wow, it is constant excitement everyday here!

Living in the good times...

While on the short term part of the trip with my team mates from Mid Cities, we encountered a minor setback to our accommodations. Having no electricity made us so thankful for the modern conveniences that we left behind. We had breakfast and dinner by gaslight...and even found ourselves going to bed at an unusually early time because the sun went down so early! It almost began to feel like a natural thing to wake up to using the flashlight or feeling our way around. It definitely built some team comaradarie between us. We also carried on the tradition of peanut butter and jelly sandwiched for our lunch everyday. We almost got used to using the gas light for everything..

Precious ones...

It has only been 2 days since I have began working with the precious babies at Thembacare-Athlone. Already there are quite a few concerns about the health of several of the babies. They have quite a full house. There are 18 beds total and 16 are being used. With a heavy heart I am sharing with you of the burden that I feel for these precious ones. They are ages 4 months to 5 years old. I have realized that I can be there to hold them in hopes that the physical touch will be one thing that brings their health around. Ultimately, the prayers of those if you who share in the burden for this lost generation, that will make the most difference. I must remember that just as my heart breaks for them, even so my Heavenly Fathers heart must be filled with sadness. I stand only as a vessel to be used by the Lord to touch these lives and bring a hope where none remains.Thank you for your continued prayer.