Ministry update

So I just wrote this long blog and then the internet died and lost all of it, so yeah, slightly (very)frustrated, but I'll try to recreate...

For the most part its been much of the same stuff I wrote about a few weeks ago, although things are always slightly different. One new thing I did though was drive on a hospital run last week. There are a lot of hospital trips with this group and a lot of different hospitals, so thankfully i got to go to one of the nicer ones. For the most part it was a long day of waiting in the hospital and entertaining the boy we took for his appointment. It was kind of fun hanging out with the kid though. We also had to pick up 4 big boxes of medication for the kids, which is only half of the medicine the kids take here... its crazy. I went on the trip with Sarah, who is nurse by trade and another one of the volunteers. She will be missed when she leaves in December, I'm not sure how we are going to handle her work as none of us have any medical background. Also, we lose 6 volunteers in December, so it will be a crazy time.

I guess the first interview/business class went alright, because they asked me to come back the next week and teach some of the interview skills to a different group that is taking a Life Skills class at the community center. But from that lesson on I feel like my teaching skills are struggling a little bit. This includes 2 more business skills class and also a lesson on self-discipline and self-esteem to the Life Skills class last week. Much of it is probably because along with never having done anything like this before, I’m struggling to relate to where these people are in life, they don’t understand all my English (especially the Life Skills class), and South African and Zulu culture is very last minute so I’ve been given very little notice for the Life Skills classes I’ve taught (like a few hours before or the night before) which leads to basically no prep on my part. So yeah, I need to figure out what works, prep a little more and probably make lessons more interactive so I get less bored eyes staring at the wall behind me. So please pray for that. Also, Lauren had dinner with her German roommates and some of the Zulu volunteers in our class and it seems that Germans and Zulu people can't understand me, even though they understand other people's English. Nobody else can figure it out, and it's kind of become a joke that has me a little frustrated and self conscious! ha.

Now to jump around some as these posts seem to be a random collection of thoughts and events... the other day one of the nursery kids came into the office during our devotion and gave everyone high-fives and it was adorable, after he left though one of the other volunteers said that a few months ago that never would have happened as he was affected by nightmares and scary visions during the day. Praise God for the healing in his life and many of the other changes He's had a hand in here. That being said, a lot of these kids have been through awful events before coming here that surely have left them deeply scared. Many could probably use counseling, but please pray that God continues to work on their hearts and uses this loving environment to help them grow and heal.

I continue to say how much I love things around here, and that is definitely true, but like any "workplace" we have our problems and tensions. Please pray that we make communication a priority. Pray that regardless of differences and varying ideas on how things are run/handled, that we can put relationships first. Pray that we can be open to changes and improvements where necessary. Pray that in all things God's will is sought first. And finally, please pray that the staff can continue to grow together.

One last event to comment on is that Nick Vujicic was here on Saturday for an event which the kids seemed to really enjoy. If you are interested in learning more about his ministry, check out http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/

Miss all of you back in the States. Hope all is well. Many blessings.