Hi everyone! As a warning, this will be a short post. I am running out of time during my "tea break," which really means "gross instant coffee and peanut butter toast break" to me.
God is so good. I was able to go to church yesterday morning and night, which was so awesome. It's a bummer when you work the weekend and can't go to church, so I am always grateful when we're able to go! There was a visiting pastor/missionary there, and he was SO AWESOME. He was talking a lot about the power of the Holy Spirit and how, as Christians, we all have access to that power. Because we have Jesus inside of us, and if we pray for the Holy Spirit to dwell more richly inside of us (sometimes called the baptism of the Holy Spirit), we are able to operate in the supernatural and in the miraculous. This has been my prayer since coming to Africa, thus it was so timely.
I had been feeling really down all day yesterday, so I was glad to be able to go back to church at night to hear this man speak again. I went up for prayer at the end, and Noelle (one of the elders who is really sweet) was praying for me. She put both her palms on mine, and lifted up my hands and told me to praise God for who He is. It was such a Moses moment-do you remember that story in the Old Testament? The Israelites were in the middle of a battle, and as long as Moses (at least I think it was him, haha) had his hands raised to God, they would be winning the fight. Moses started to get tired and his hands kept dropping. Every time his hands dropped, the Israelites would start to lose. His friend (Aaron?) came over and stood in the gap for Moses, helping him continue to raise his hands by holding them up over his head for him. That's what it felt like for me when Noelle raised my hands up-I had been feeling so down and tired and just blah...and immediately when she helped me raise my hands, I had to take this HUGE breath in, like I was breathing in the power and strength of Christ to help me through. It was awesome.
Africa is awesome. I am loving every minute, and I am so grateful that God has placed me here. I can only hope that He will call me back again.
Quick shout-out: Hannah, I hope your dance recital went well!!! I'm sure you looked beautiful!!! :)
All to Him,
Emily
Monday, June 29, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
a dream fulfilled.
Hi everyone! Sorry it's taken me SO LONG to update again!! It's been so busy here with diarrhea, runny noses, and remembering when everyone takes their medicine. :)
HOWEVER, on one of my days off this past week (Wednesday), I was able to go to Pilanesburg National Park with most of the girls and Russell and one of his friends from the States who's visiting!!! For those of you who don't know, that means that I WENT ON A REAL AFRICAN SAFARI!!!! It was so awesome! We basically were all in this big van which luckily had many windows and drove around teeny dirt roads through this huge park. About five minutes into the park, we saw a herd of wildebeest and zebra, all munching on some grass! I was so excited. I kept saying, "These are REAL! There are real live ZEBRAS right in front of our CAR!!" Everyone kindof laughed at me, because I seriously said it so many times, but they were just as excited. :)
I also saw rhinos, giraffes, elephants, springbok (kindof like gazelle/deer looking things...they are the name of the South African rugby team, so they're kindof a big deal), many different kinds of gazelle things like impala and kudu, this huge snake sunning itself on a rock, hippo, warthogs (they seriously looked just like Pumba from the Lion King!), etc. etc. I was SO EXCITED!!! I have so many pictures that I will post to Facebook, then I will post the link on my blog for you guys. My favorites were the elephants and the giraffes!! I love them!! And they were SO big!! I couldn't believe that I was able to see all of those animals in the wild! That is one thing that I have always said that I wanted to do before I died...so I guess I am one step closer to dying! Haha just kidding...
But speaking of dying, I couldn't believe it when I heard that Michael Jackson died yesterday! That was the first thing I heard when I woke up today-Kat looked at me and said, "Hey, did you know that Michael Jackson died?" It was really weird to wake up to that comment haha. It is all over the radio today, so we have heard many, many Michael Jackson songs. I have declared to all of the children in Starfish that every time one of his songs comes on, we need to have a mini dance party. It is HILARIOUS-I basically just dance around them looking like an idiot, and they all stare at me and laugh. I am so glad that there are no videos or pictures of this. :)
Well, I will update more later! Thanks to all of those who are praying for Auntie Mary! A good update on the baby who was in the hospital is that she is back home now! She is doing much, much better, and has even been weaned off a liter of oxygen (she was on 2.5, now she's just on 1.5). Praise God!
All to Him,
Emily
HOWEVER, on one of my days off this past week (Wednesday), I was able to go to Pilanesburg National Park with most of the girls and Russell and one of his friends from the States who's visiting!!! For those of you who don't know, that means that I WENT ON A REAL AFRICAN SAFARI!!!! It was so awesome! We basically were all in this big van which luckily had many windows and drove around teeny dirt roads through this huge park. About five minutes into the park, we saw a herd of wildebeest and zebra, all munching on some grass! I was so excited. I kept saying, "These are REAL! There are real live ZEBRAS right in front of our CAR!!" Everyone kindof laughed at me, because I seriously said it so many times, but they were just as excited. :)
I also saw rhinos, giraffes, elephants, springbok (kindof like gazelle/deer looking things...they are the name of the South African rugby team, so they're kindof a big deal), many different kinds of gazelle things like impala and kudu, this huge snake sunning itself on a rock, hippo, warthogs (they seriously looked just like Pumba from the Lion King!), etc. etc. I was SO EXCITED!!! I have so many pictures that I will post to Facebook, then I will post the link on my blog for you guys. My favorites were the elephants and the giraffes!! I love them!! And they were SO big!! I couldn't believe that I was able to see all of those animals in the wild! That is one thing that I have always said that I wanted to do before I died...so I guess I am one step closer to dying! Haha just kidding...
But speaking of dying, I couldn't believe it when I heard that Michael Jackson died yesterday! That was the first thing I heard when I woke up today-Kat looked at me and said, "Hey, did you know that Michael Jackson died?" It was really weird to wake up to that comment haha. It is all over the radio today, so we have heard many, many Michael Jackson songs. I have declared to all of the children in Starfish that every time one of his songs comes on, we need to have a mini dance party. It is HILARIOUS-I basically just dance around them looking like an idiot, and they all stare at me and laugh. I am so glad that there are no videos or pictures of this. :)
Well, I will update more later! Thanks to all of those who are praying for Auntie Mary! A good update on the baby who was in the hospital is that she is back home now! She is doing much, much better, and has even been weaned off a liter of oxygen (she was on 2.5, now she's just on 1.5). Praise God!
All to Him,
Emily
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
"you white people, you don't have to worry."
Things are going pretty well here at Door of Hope. Aside from everyone screaming today in unison from approximately 7:00 AM until 10:00 AM, it's been a good day. ;) Right now it is 1:27 PM my time, and I am taking my much-needed lunch break haha.
When I work here, I always work with Auntie Mary. She is an awesome Congolese woman living in South Africa with her husband. I love working with her because she is FULL of joy, no matter how many kids are screaming at the moment. I love getting to talk to her about her life.
Yesterday I was able to talk with her for a while about what she was praying about at the moment. I was so challenged. I have noticed that every spare moment she gets, whether that be waiting for lunch to cook, her break time, the kids' nap time, or whatever, she always goes into the sick baby's room (who is still in the hospital, by the way, but is doing much better) and prays and reads her Bible. I mean, every spare second this woman is praying! I asked her yesterday what she prayed about all the time, and she said that I might not understand, but she would tell me.
She said that as a black person, she has to pray all the time against curses on her life. It is apparently very common once someone leaves the village or gets married that there is a family member who was offended in the process. That family member then proceeds to declare curses on that person's head, asking for them not to have children or to be sick or not to be happy. Auntie Mary told me this whole crazy story that once she was asked to be married, she got this disease on her face, all these huge dark black spots all over her face. She got this disease the day after she was asked to be married. She is convinced that this is because someone was offended and was praying for her to be cursed.
Auntie Mary kept telling me how important it is for her to pray and pray for her and her husband, because if she forgets, something always happens. She said that as a white person, I don't have to worry about magic and mysticism, but that as a black person from the Congo, she really has to pray against it. I told her that something I'm learning is the power of the declaration. As Christians, the Bible says that we have Christ in us. Because of that, we have Jesus' power in our spoken word, so that when we declare something about His Kingdom down here on earth, the Bible says that it WILL happen. In the Lord's Prayer, it says, "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Jesus modeled for us here that if we see something here on earth that is not a part of His heavenly Kingdom, we have the authority to pray against that and literally pray for His Kingdom to be manifested here on earth in that situation. (By the way, I didn't think all of this stuff up on my own. I am learning so much about this from the book When Heaven Invades Earth,by Bill Johnson. Go pick up a copy-it's awesome!!)
Please join me in prayer for Auntie Mary and her family. She is in the process of writing me a list of more specific prayer requests. If you'd like a copy, please let me know.
Something else that has changed in Starfish is the addition of a new member! We have a new 18-month old girl who is HIV positive. She arrived yesterday and is very, very malnourished. I have never seen a child like this in all my life except for in those commercials you see about adopting African children on TV. I mean, skin and bones, hair like straw, huge tummy...my heart is just torn for her! I've been tending to her all day. She smiled today at me, and I got so excited!!! In her medical records, it said that she had never smiled, so I think it might be a big deal that she did so today. I held her for a long time today, and she FINALLY accepted some food and a little liquid. I was really excited as she ate, but my hopes for her eating anything this morning were a little crushed as I rubbed her back while she vomited everything back up. Please pray for her. She is so beautiful and curious, and I just want her to get well! Because she is HIV positive, she might have to go to another home, but I'll keep you posted.
She spent most of the morning on my back, African papoose style. All you mothers out there--I HAVE to teach you how to do this. It is awesome! A child can be on your back while you do whatever you have to do around the house! She was crying and crying, but as soon as I put her on my back in the papoose, she stopped crying and fell asleep. Apparently, this is what happens to most children in this magical papoose. The best part is-you don't have to buy a special piece of cloth! Just use a bath towel! I am seriously doing this once I have kids-it is so sweet!
I'll update again soon. I haven't forgotten that I need to tell you about Nelson Mandela's house and Soweto!
All to Him,
Emily
When I work here, I always work with Auntie Mary. She is an awesome Congolese woman living in South Africa with her husband. I love working with her because she is FULL of joy, no matter how many kids are screaming at the moment. I love getting to talk to her about her life.
Yesterday I was able to talk with her for a while about what she was praying about at the moment. I was so challenged. I have noticed that every spare moment she gets, whether that be waiting for lunch to cook, her break time, the kids' nap time, or whatever, she always goes into the sick baby's room (who is still in the hospital, by the way, but is doing much better) and prays and reads her Bible. I mean, every spare second this woman is praying! I asked her yesterday what she prayed about all the time, and she said that I might not understand, but she would tell me.
She said that as a black person, she has to pray all the time against curses on her life. It is apparently very common once someone leaves the village or gets married that there is a family member who was offended in the process. That family member then proceeds to declare curses on that person's head, asking for them not to have children or to be sick or not to be happy. Auntie Mary told me this whole crazy story that once she was asked to be married, she got this disease on her face, all these huge dark black spots all over her face. She got this disease the day after she was asked to be married. She is convinced that this is because someone was offended and was praying for her to be cursed.
Auntie Mary kept telling me how important it is for her to pray and pray for her and her husband, because if she forgets, something always happens. She said that as a white person, I don't have to worry about magic and mysticism, but that as a black person from the Congo, she really has to pray against it. I told her that something I'm learning is the power of the declaration. As Christians, the Bible says that we have Christ in us. Because of that, we have Jesus' power in our spoken word, so that when we declare something about His Kingdom down here on earth, the Bible says that it WILL happen. In the Lord's Prayer, it says, "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Jesus modeled for us here that if we see something here on earth that is not a part of His heavenly Kingdom, we have the authority to pray against that and literally pray for His Kingdom to be manifested here on earth in that situation. (By the way, I didn't think all of this stuff up on my own. I am learning so much about this from the book When Heaven Invades Earth,by Bill Johnson. Go pick up a copy-it's awesome!!)
Please join me in prayer for Auntie Mary and her family. She is in the process of writing me a list of more specific prayer requests. If you'd like a copy, please let me know.
Something else that has changed in Starfish is the addition of a new member! We have a new 18-month old girl who is HIV positive. She arrived yesterday and is very, very malnourished. I have never seen a child like this in all my life except for in those commercials you see about adopting African children on TV. I mean, skin and bones, hair like straw, huge tummy...my heart is just torn for her! I've been tending to her all day. She smiled today at me, and I got so excited!!! In her medical records, it said that she had never smiled, so I think it might be a big deal that she did so today. I held her for a long time today, and she FINALLY accepted some food and a little liquid. I was really excited as she ate, but my hopes for her eating anything this morning were a little crushed as I rubbed her back while she vomited everything back up. Please pray for her. She is so beautiful and curious, and I just want her to get well! Because she is HIV positive, she might have to go to another home, but I'll keep you posted.
She spent most of the morning on my back, African papoose style. All you mothers out there--I HAVE to teach you how to do this. It is awesome! A child can be on your back while you do whatever you have to do around the house! She was crying and crying, but as soon as I put her on my back in the papoose, she stopped crying and fell asleep. Apparently, this is what happens to most children in this magical papoose. The best part is-you don't have to buy a special piece of cloth! Just use a bath towel! I am seriously doing this once I have kids-it is so sweet!
I'll update again soon. I haven't forgotten that I need to tell you about Nelson Mandela's house and Soweto!
All to Him,
Emily
Friday, June 12, 2009
sunshine and dirty nappies.
To whoever prayed for sun in South Africa yesterday: you are a prayer warrior! The beautiful sun is in the sky and I am very thankful to not be cold anymore. Thanks!
Random fact about living in South Africa: there are ants everywhere. As in, I literally just smushed one with my finger that was crawling next to this computer. There are also cockroaches in our kitchen. Gross!!! They freak me out every time they randomly zip out from underneath the microwave.
I just found out this morning that one of my girls is being adopted in July! I can't even believe it. Another girl has been found a potential family also, but for August. It is so weird to me...I almost feel like I don't want to give them up, even though I KNOW that they're not really mine! Most working days, though, I feel like a mother with six children.
Please pray, though, because today I only have five children. One of the kids I look after (the one who is permanently on oxygen) went to the hospital yesterday. She is very, very sick, and has to stay there indefinitely. Her first birthday is at the end of this month, so please pray that she will be home by then. Her entire little life is a miracle, as doctors predicted that she would never live this long. Please pray that she is able to come back home for her birthday! All of her previous doctors and nurses are invited...it will be a big bash. :)
Funny story about my day so far: one of the little boys I look after has become a pooping MACHINE yesterday and today. Yesterday, I seriously changed about FIVE dirty diapers from him alone, and when I say dirty, I mean like it was starting to explode out of his diaper (or "nappie," as they say in South Africa). It was ridiculous. This morning I went to change him, and it was only wet...so I was immediately prepared for a big one later on. However, I went to check on him and two others in the bath a few minutes later, and he had POOPED ALL OVER THE BATHTUB!! It was literally EVERYWHERE. Sickening. Oh and yeah-guess who had to clean it up? Lovely.
Too much information? :)
All to Him,
Emily
Random fact about living in South Africa: there are ants everywhere. As in, I literally just smushed one with my finger that was crawling next to this computer. There are also cockroaches in our kitchen. Gross!!! They freak me out every time they randomly zip out from underneath the microwave.
I just found out this morning that one of my girls is being adopted in July! I can't even believe it. Another girl has been found a potential family also, but for August. It is so weird to me...I almost feel like I don't want to give them up, even though I KNOW that they're not really mine! Most working days, though, I feel like a mother with six children.
Please pray, though, because today I only have five children. One of the kids I look after (the one who is permanently on oxygen) went to the hospital yesterday. She is very, very sick, and has to stay there indefinitely. Her first birthday is at the end of this month, so please pray that she will be home by then. Her entire little life is a miracle, as doctors predicted that she would never live this long. Please pray that she is able to come back home for her birthday! All of her previous doctors and nurses are invited...it will be a big bash. :)
Funny story about my day so far: one of the little boys I look after has become a pooping MACHINE yesterday and today. Yesterday, I seriously changed about FIVE dirty diapers from him alone, and when I say dirty, I mean like it was starting to explode out of his diaper (or "nappie," as they say in South Africa). It was ridiculous. This morning I went to change him, and it was only wet...so I was immediately prepared for a big one later on. However, I went to check on him and two others in the bath a few minutes later, and he had POOPED ALL OVER THE BATHTUB!! It was literally EVERYWHERE. Sickening. Oh and yeah-guess who had to clean it up? Lovely.
Too much information? :)
All to Him,
Emily
Thursday, June 11, 2009
world cup renovations.
So, the weather SERIOUSLY needs to kick into gear here! It's winter, which means it's "cold" according to South African standards, but I find it to be pretty nice. In the mornings and at night it can get pretty chilly, but during the day I'm normally fine in short sleeves, because it's really nice and sunny. For the past few days, however, it has been drizzling and really gross weather, so we couldn't take the kids outside at all. So sad. I hope it gets nice again soon!
When I was in Pretoria on Monday, I passed the stadium where the World Cup is going to be held! (Dan, I tried to take a picture of it for you!) It is so crazy what is going on here for the World Cup. There are flags EVERYWHERE, and there is so much construction. In the airport, they are working right now to double its size, and they are also doubling the size of all of the highways and most big roads by adding another lane! There are construction workers everywhere.
What really gets me, though, is the fact that they are rebuilding the township houses that are right along the sides of the road, to make it look better to the tourists. Townships, for those of you who don't know, are ghettos left over from apartheid. White South Africans made all the black South Africans live in these ghettos because they didn't believe that the blacks were as good as the whites. It was a horrible situation that was only legally abolished about 20 years ago or so. Many people still live in the townships, however, which means that many people still live in terrible situations. Some of the townships line the highways, so the government, in an effort to make them not look so bad, is literally constructing mansions in place of the shacks that lined the road. They are leaving the rest of the township as is.
I just can hardly wrap my mind around that. On Saturday, I have the opportunity to visit a township called Soweto, and I am also able to visit Nelson Mandela's house. I can't wait to experience it, and I will definitely let you all know how it goes!
Just be praying for the people who live in these townships, and for those who face prejudice every day. Even here at the baby house I have experienced this prejudice, for any white babies we ever receive are adopted locally within a few weeks, while we have many, many black babies waiting to be adopted. Please pray for peace and restoration.
All to Him,
Emily
When I was in Pretoria on Monday, I passed the stadium where the World Cup is going to be held! (Dan, I tried to take a picture of it for you!) It is so crazy what is going on here for the World Cup. There are flags EVERYWHERE, and there is so much construction. In the airport, they are working right now to double its size, and they are also doubling the size of all of the highways and most big roads by adding another lane! There are construction workers everywhere.
What really gets me, though, is the fact that they are rebuilding the township houses that are right along the sides of the road, to make it look better to the tourists. Townships, for those of you who don't know, are ghettos left over from apartheid. White South Africans made all the black South Africans live in these ghettos because they didn't believe that the blacks were as good as the whites. It was a horrible situation that was only legally abolished about 20 years ago or so. Many people still live in the townships, however, which means that many people still live in terrible situations. Some of the townships line the highways, so the government, in an effort to make them not look so bad, is literally constructing mansions in place of the shacks that lined the road. They are leaving the rest of the township as is.
I just can hardly wrap my mind around that. On Saturday, I have the opportunity to visit a township called Soweto, and I am also able to visit Nelson Mandela's house. I can't wait to experience it, and I will definitely let you all know how it goes!
Just be praying for the people who live in these townships, and for those who face prejudice every day. Even here at the baby house I have experienced this prejudice, for any white babies we ever receive are adopted locally within a few weeks, while we have many, many black babies waiting to be adopted. Please pray for peace and restoration.
All to Him,
Emily
Monday, June 8, 2009
adoption day.
Today I had an incredible experience. I was able to travel to Pretoria with two beautiful baby boys to meet their adoptive family. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I am so, so grateful that I got to see the "final product," per se, of why I'm here. This adoption agency is called Abba Adoptions, and it is a Christian adoption agency. They match Christian homes up with babies from a few places in South Africa and other countries.
When Steph and I got to Pretoria, we fed the babies and changed them into their "going away" outfits. They looked so cute! I took a LOT of pictures haha. The first couple that we gave a baby to was a "first time" family. They didn't have any children, and they had never adopted before. I walked in ahead of Steph (who had the baby), and when I saw the looks on the parents' faces, I just about lost it. Here they were, after having waited for so long (at least one or two years) for this child, having prayed for this child, and waited some more...finally getting their baby. Steph said it best when she said, "It's an incredible experience, because normally only God gets to give babies. Today, WE get to give one away." The parents were so excited! As soon as we gave them their new son, they both just kindof buried their faces into his little body, cuddling and kissing him.
Before we gave the babies to their new families, I had the chance to take each of them and pray over their lives. I was just struck with what a miracle it was that they were alive, well, and how God had so obviously been watching over them in their short life. One of the babies had come through the baby bin, and I was particularly drawn to him. What an amazing testimony of God's faithfulness to turn this baby's future around, take what the enemy meant for harm, and turn it into a beautiful story of adoption and a family who loves him and has waited and prayed for him! I couldn't stop smiling in the placement room as I watched these brand new parents get acquainted with their new son. I am so grateful that I was able to be a part of this!!
Regular work is also going well. I love going to see the kids! One of the boys is teething, so he's a little cranky, but that also means that he is extra cuddly, which is just fine with me. This is him here (I'm allowed to post photos as long as you can't see any defining features of the child):
Well, I will update again later! I hope you are all doing well!
All to Him,
Emily
When Steph and I got to Pretoria, we fed the babies and changed them into their "going away" outfits. They looked so cute! I took a LOT of pictures haha. The first couple that we gave a baby to was a "first time" family. They didn't have any children, and they had never adopted before. I walked in ahead of Steph (who had the baby), and when I saw the looks on the parents' faces, I just about lost it. Here they were, after having waited for so long (at least one or two years) for this child, having prayed for this child, and waited some more...finally getting their baby. Steph said it best when she said, "It's an incredible experience, because normally only God gets to give babies. Today, WE get to give one away." The parents were so excited! As soon as we gave them their new son, they both just kindof buried their faces into his little body, cuddling and kissing him.
Before we gave the babies to their new families, I had the chance to take each of them and pray over their lives. I was just struck with what a miracle it was that they were alive, well, and how God had so obviously been watching over them in their short life. One of the babies had come through the baby bin, and I was particularly drawn to him. What an amazing testimony of God's faithfulness to turn this baby's future around, take what the enemy meant for harm, and turn it into a beautiful story of adoption and a family who loves him and has waited and prayed for him! I couldn't stop smiling in the placement room as I watched these brand new parents get acquainted with their new son. I am so grateful that I was able to be a part of this!!
Regular work is also going well. I love going to see the kids! One of the boys is teething, so he's a little cranky, but that also means that he is extra cuddly, which is just fine with me. This is him here (I'm allowed to post photos as long as you can't see any defining features of the child):
Well, I will update again later! I hope you are all doing well!
All to Him,
Emily
Friday, June 5, 2009
refreshed.
Hi everyone! Thank you so much for all of your comments!
To answer a few questions...
Stephanie-I have made lots of PB&J sandwiches, some Tuna Helper (HAHA), a ham and cheese panini, and some chicken with corn (of course-my favorite vegetable) and red curry sauce. It was SO SPICY!
Hannah-I have two favorite moments of the days that I work. The first is when I wake up the kids from their naps...they are so cuddly and precious in those times! Also, I love the end of the day when we put on a Baby Einstein-like worship video for kids where I sing worship songs, hold the kids, and watch the sun set through the window. It's indescribable.
So now for my update. :)
On Wednesday, Rach and I went back to church because Brian Doerkson was leading worship! He's the guy who wrote "Come, Now is The Time to Worship" and "Hallelujah (Your Love is Amazing)." Isn't that awesome?? It was so amazing to be able to worship with everyone at church. I had been getting pretty tired, but that was just the thing I craved after three days of work with the babies.
One of the songs that we sung at the end had a line that went "I was an orphan, You adopted me." That line just struck me so much, because I realized that I am not this awesome person caring for orphans in South Africa, but I AM an orphan. We are ALL orphans! Thankfully, Jesus loved us enough to adopt us into His eternal, royal family. I was just so taken aback by that realization, and love that it provides me with something I have in common with every child here! Even though our backgrounds are different, our languages or accents are different, our ways of life are different, or even the colors of our skin are different...God loves us each the way we are. And He loves these children even more than I do. I pray each time I'm with the children that God would just take ahold of their lives, and that He would use the circumstances the enemy meant for harm for such GOOD.
Be blessed.
All to Him,
Emily
To answer a few questions...
Stephanie-I have made lots of PB&J sandwiches, some Tuna Helper (HAHA), a ham and cheese panini, and some chicken with corn (of course-my favorite vegetable) and red curry sauce. It was SO SPICY!
Hannah-I have two favorite moments of the days that I work. The first is when I wake up the kids from their naps...they are so cuddly and precious in those times! Also, I love the end of the day when we put on a Baby Einstein-like worship video for kids where I sing worship songs, hold the kids, and watch the sun set through the window. It's indescribable.
So now for my update. :)
On Wednesday, Rach and I went back to church because Brian Doerkson was leading worship! He's the guy who wrote "Come, Now is The Time to Worship" and "Hallelujah (Your Love is Amazing)." Isn't that awesome?? It was so amazing to be able to worship with everyone at church. I had been getting pretty tired, but that was just the thing I craved after three days of work with the babies.
One of the songs that we sung at the end had a line that went "I was an orphan, You adopted me." That line just struck me so much, because I realized that I am not this awesome person caring for orphans in South Africa, but I AM an orphan. We are ALL orphans! Thankfully, Jesus loved us enough to adopt us into His eternal, royal family. I was just so taken aback by that realization, and love that it provides me with something I have in common with every child here! Even though our backgrounds are different, our languages or accents are different, our ways of life are different, or even the colors of our skin are different...God loves us each the way we are. And He loves these children even more than I do. I pray each time I'm with the children that God would just take ahold of their lives, and that He would use the circumstances the enemy meant for harm for such GOOD.
Be blessed.
All to Him,
Emily
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
daily life.
So, SOUTH AFRICA! I am seriously loving every minute here (per normal). It is very, very busy, but I love it that way!
A little update on my cooking...I cooked CHICKEN the other day!!!!! I was so proud of myself, and I started laughing as soon as I threw it in the pan. The girls all looked over at me, like, "What is WRONG with her?!" and I just exclaimed, "I'm cooking CHICKEN!" They all laughed. They might think I'm a little crazy, but we're all getting along so well. I cooked the chicken with this red curry sauce I bought...it was EXTREMELY spicy! My mouth literally felt like I had FLAMES coming out of it. Now I know better, I guess...
The tricky thing is that we don't have a real oven or stove here. We have a microwave (which actually triples as a microwave/voice recorder/radio. Yes, I'm serious. I listen to music coming out of the MICROWAVE!), a toaster, and this large version of a toaster oven (about the size of a large microwave) that has two cooktop things on top. Apparently they don't work very well...Beth tried to cook rice on it the other day, and it took her over two hours. TWO HOURS! So yeah, my limited cooking experience will do me no good, especially considering that everything is in Celsius... :)
Here I work in the "Starfish" room, which is the room for babies with special needs (when I say babies, I mean anywhere from 7 to 18 months). Most of them have developmental issues, and not many know how to walk yet. There are two boys and four girls, and all of them are very possessive about wanting someone to hold them all the time! My arms get very tired, haha...
I start work at 7:00 AM, which means I wake up at 6:00 and leave by 6:50. Here is my schedule at work:
7:15-wake babies up, change them, bathe them
8:15-bottle time!
9:00-exercises (we do physical and occupational therapy with them)
10:00-12:00-nap time, make the kids' lunch, do dishes, take out trash, put wash on the line, clean the tub
12:00-wake up babies, feed them lunch
2:00-nap time
3:00-wake babies up
3:15-music time (with motions!)
3:45-outside time
4:30-dinner time
5:00-get in pajamas
5:15-watch this worship Baby Einstein-like video...it is awesome haha
6:00-the night shift comes, and I go home to try to figure out how to cook!
So...it's a busy day haha. I can't even stay awake much past 9:30 anymore, which is a little sad for someone who considered herself a night person!
I hope you all are doing well!
All to Him,
Emily
A little update on my cooking...I cooked CHICKEN the other day!!!!! I was so proud of myself, and I started laughing as soon as I threw it in the pan. The girls all looked over at me, like, "What is WRONG with her?!" and I just exclaimed, "I'm cooking CHICKEN!" They all laughed. They might think I'm a little crazy, but we're all getting along so well. I cooked the chicken with this red curry sauce I bought...it was EXTREMELY spicy! My mouth literally felt like I had FLAMES coming out of it. Now I know better, I guess...
The tricky thing is that we don't have a real oven or stove here. We have a microwave (which actually triples as a microwave/voice recorder/radio. Yes, I'm serious. I listen to music coming out of the MICROWAVE!), a toaster, and this large version of a toaster oven (about the size of a large microwave) that has two cooktop things on top. Apparently they don't work very well...Beth tried to cook rice on it the other day, and it took her over two hours. TWO HOURS! So yeah, my limited cooking experience will do me no good, especially considering that everything is in Celsius... :)
Here I work in the "Starfish" room, which is the room for babies with special needs (when I say babies, I mean anywhere from 7 to 18 months). Most of them have developmental issues, and not many know how to walk yet. There are two boys and four girls, and all of them are very possessive about wanting someone to hold them all the time! My arms get very tired, haha...
I start work at 7:00 AM, which means I wake up at 6:00 and leave by 6:50. Here is my schedule at work:
7:15-wake babies up, change them, bathe them
8:15-bottle time!
9:00-exercises (we do physical and occupational therapy with them)
10:00-12:00-nap time, make the kids' lunch, do dishes, take out trash, put wash on the line, clean the tub
12:00-wake up babies, feed them lunch
2:00-nap time
3:00-wake babies up
3:15-music time (with motions!)
3:45-outside time
4:30-dinner time
5:00-get in pajamas
5:15-watch this worship Baby Einstein-like video...it is awesome haha
6:00-the night shift comes, and I go home to try to figure out how to cook!
So...it's a busy day haha. I can't even stay awake much past 9:30 anymore, which is a little sad for someone who considered herself a night person!
I hope you all are doing well!
All to Him,
Emily
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