We have one more week left. We knew that when we hit the half way point it was going to fly by, and it really has.

 

This week we have been doing a lot of manual labor. Dane has kind of been the point person for these exercise bars  that are in the middle of a cleared out sugar cane crop that will hopefully be used as a track. Bruce (the head of WITL) is really pushing a healthy lifestyle for the people of Hanville and wanted to see an exercise room (which has already been in use since we have finished it) and these work out bars outside.

 

Let me tell you, they have been one heck of a task! The boys had to saw these big polls to fit the size of pull-up bars, triceps bar, leg lifts, an one to work out the abs. Then they had to drill holes in the poles for the bars which was a difficult task to get them straight. The girls had to dig all the holes for the poles which took forever because the ground was hard. We all have “kitty paws” which are huge, nasty, blisters on our palms. Not cute! Yesterday morning we filled the holes with cement and will do some last minute work tomorrow.

 

On Wednesday when the young ones came we did a lesson on fishers of men and made fishing poles that they dangled over a wall and caught a paper fish that they could decorate.

 

We also harvested corn again which you to be a fun task for us. Now, we are sick of corn! J That’s okay though!

 

Yesterday I had a fun adventure of learning how to drive a stick shift on the opposite side of the car on the wrong side of the road. Cale gave me my first lesson and then Rory and Jen were brave enough to go out with me on the streets with me while our driver, Phillip, taught me. Rory and Jen were troopers. Rory kept saying that he almost “pooped” himself, and Jen clung to Rory pretty tight a couple of times, but other than that… it was fun! I appreciated when they sang “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus to calm me down when I stalled three times at a traffic light. I’m learning to drive so I can run basic errands when the team leaves so I’m not stranded at the house all the time! Don’t worry, I have insurance!

 

On Friday the girls had a cool opportunity to go to a place called The Esther House, where I spent time when I studied abroad. It is an interim battered women’s shelter where women can come and stay for three months in order to get back on their feet. I met a girl last year named Smangele and she was my favorite. She’s 17 years old and was at Esther house because her parents abused her. I was actually able to stop by on Thursday for a few seconds to see if she was there by any chance and the women told me no. I figured that. So, when I was there with the other girls from my team we were meeting all of the new women. We were there about 15 minutes and then I heard someone yell my name and I turned around an there was Sma!

           

It was so crazy! I instantly welled up with tears and just hugged her. I never thought I’d see her again! I found out that she lives not too far from the Esther House with another lady that took her in and sometimes she goes on walks and passes by the Esther house to visit. She said she hadn’t been in a while, but felt like she needed to go and when she got there, one of the women that saw me the day before told her that I was inside looking for her again. It was crazy. When I met her last year she gave me a bracelet that I have worn ever since and it was so cool to show her that I still had it! It has definitely been my favorite moment on the trip to be able to reconnect with her and hopefully continue a relationship while I am still here.

 

So, as far as things coming up that we could use prayer for…

-       Finishing the play ground construction

-       “Mudding” the side of a lady’s house that past APU students started

-       Youth Day (Tuesday) We’re going with the senior youth to the park for a braii and party

-       The concert on Friday night and that it brings in lots of money and people

o      Our team is singing a song and we’re not the most vocally talented group! J

 

 

The second team is preparing to leave, so please lift them up in prayer as we’re finishing our leg of the journey.

 

 

Thanks for your love and support! Keep them coming! J 

Love,

Dayna

 

 

Ello Mates

So this isn’t one of those ‘what happened today’ updates. This is more of a general update. We’ve talked as a team with Bruce about projects that we can work on that can be long term but also serve to better the individuals that Walk in the Light interacts with. Bruce shared with us his desire to get a gym going here on the property. So as a group we cleared out an old storage room. In the process of clearing out that room we encountered a few whip scorpions, a mouse that scared the daylights out of our entire team, and enough spiders to start our own spider farm. Once the room was cleared out we laid down some carpeting that we found lying around and soon after painted the room a nice sky blue (perfect muscle building atmosphere). Bruce had an old piece of gym equipment that we dismantled and then put back together properly (very proud of ourselves). As a team we also purchased some exercise balls for the gym. We’re also planning to put up some pull-up bars and make a sort of track that runs along the inside perimeter of Walk in the Light. It was great hearing Dane (athletic training major) explain proper workout technique and the way muscles work to a few of the guys from the community (the confused looks on their faces were priceless). But that gym has been really great already. There’s been a lot of excitement seen in the youth regarding the gym so we’re encouraged. We’re praying that the gym will be something that can give people within the community a.) something to do so their boredom won’t lead to promiscuity and b.) provide the people an opportunity to improve their physical health. This seems like a project that can be continued long after our missions trip has ended.

We’ve also worked on setting up a preschool at Walk in the Light. If you drive through the neighborhood during the day it is quite obvious that there is a need for a preschool. There is one childcare place that Bruce refers to as ‘Day Prison’ because the infants just stand around all day. But we got a few rooms set up, got some toys in them, and have a few more ideas that we’re going to run with. It’s great having a team that is so idealistic because we’re always trying to figure out what improvements we can make next.

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but every weekday a few of us go with Bruce to take some people in the community to the neighborhood medical clinic. Nicole and I go together and each time has been both different and difficult. We got to sit down and pray for a young woman whose husband had died the day before. We took two AIDS infected brothers to the clinic. These guys looked so gaunt and defeated. They wore baggy clothes hoping to hide their emaciated bodies. It was unreal. It’s very obvious that 60% of the community is infected with HIV/AIDS. In the states if I met someone with HIV it would be a huge deal. But here, it’s almost numbing because of how frequent you meet and become friends with people that are battling HIV/AIDS. I’m probably writing far too much. This is a team blog so I’ll keep it on team issues.

As far as the youth is concerned, there have been over 50 kids at Walk in the Light the past few days. It’s great that so many kids come, but it’s hard when you have 3 kids on your back, 1 on each foot, and then 5 more screaming your name. But that’s a great problem for us to have.

We’re all loving each other. We’re doing great and get sad when we realize that our time here at Walk in the Light will soon come to an end. Keep praying for the team and that we stay motivated and don’t grow weary.

Joyful in Hope. Patient in Affliction. Faithful in Prayer.

Love you all

-Rory