Day 18:
Today was yet another busy day and these past 18 days of
nonstop action have finally taken a toll on me!! Its not even 8p and I think I
am going to bed early… like now. So this
will be short. With how wordy I am, you’re probably relieved!
This morning we got up early (as always) so 5 people could
be ready to leave the house for Malindza at 6:40a. When we reach the community gardens, it’s
raining and cold. Awesome. We’re picking green peppers, cabbages,
spinach, lettuce, beet root, and tomatoes for the primary school lunch (thanks
mitali, as always, you’re a lifesaver/tummy filler) trying not to freeze to
death. The participants commented a
number of times how hard the work is – but in a community far from everything
and with such a high unemployment rate, there aren’t many other
possibilities. Hard work or hunger.
Then we went to Competitive Sports. Katy and I fell in love with the British guy
who owns it, so nice!! He built us a set of goal posts for our HIV orphanage
and we also purchased soccer balls, American footballs, a tetherball set,
kites, jump ropes, and toys for our kiddos (thanks Carmel Clay Middle
School!!!!). The owner of the sports
shop even delivered it for us and he was so sweet saying that it made him happy
to watch the kids play with his equipment.
I think he thought we were crazy to buy such nice/expensive stuff for
the kids who will just play with it to death in a short time, but then he saw
the smiles. They will get you every
time. I’ll do pretty much anything for
those. We spent hours at Selula Sandla playing soccer and games with the
kids. White people versus orphans… it
didn’t seem that fair since we are all tall and in our 20s and these kids were
like 10 and tiny, but listen people – they have more energy and we were
outnumbered.
Then we went to the Msibi house and the 4 girls tried on all
of our prom dresses we brought donated from friends and family. I cant wait to show pictures!! They were
screaming and then they came out posing and acting like they’d just won the
Oscars. It was absolutely adorable. Their brother Sizo said that now when he
walks with them he will have to be their bodyguard because they are so
stunningly beautiful. I agree. Nate was always surprised that no matter what
dress they took back into the room to try on, they all fit like a glove. It was truly a miracle. I am thankful today for the small miracles… I
feel like I have been receiving more than my fair share recently and am sad I
only have 4 more days here. I am
counting down the days until I get to come back December 26th for
the next GHFP service-learning trip already!! Who’s with me…?
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