No Power But Plenty of Hope (Week 11)

So this has been a crazy week, with the power going on and off. Every night for dinner this week we've had to go across the courtyard to the priest's extra kitchen to make dinner. As you read in my last blog, this all started on last Saturday morning, we woke up with no power. It was out all day Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Tuesday it came back on after someone looked at it but he didn't fix the problem. He showed us how to turn the power back on if it went out. We had to walk across the courtyard to the electrical box and flip two switches for it to come back on. Sometimes it would only stay on for a few mins, an hour, two hours, on Wednesday it was on all evening and it was on when we woke up in the morning. But then on Thursday it went off and didn't come back on. So we were in the dark all night, with our candles. It has been an eventful, busy week with the power being in and out and many things going on at the office. There were two things that really stick out to me that I did this week besides the power. One was we, Alban, myself, and the two new German volunteers went on a home visit to one of the younger boy's gogo's (grandma's) home. We learned that the boy's mother left him with the grandmother when he was 3 months old. Since then, she wants nothing to do with him. We were told if you call her and mention the boy's name she'll hang up on you. The boy lived with his grandmother for awhile and then moved to his uncle's and grandfather and step-grandmother's home. He ran away in both places that he lived, until he ended up here at Manzini Youth Care. I was thinking about what the boy has been through and why he kept running away and causing trouble. If your mom didn't want you and gave you away and wanted nothing to do with you wouldn't you do the same thing he was doing. I can't imagine how that boy felt, to not know why his mother didn't want him, maybe he blames himself. It just made me realize how much pain there is in the world and how selfish I can be. We haven't had electricity all week and it seems like such a huge deal when really it's not. This boy has a mother who doesn't want him. That is way more of a challenge or burden then not having power in our home.
 On another note, the girl's home is making progress! It is still a slow process but it is moving along and that is what is important! Before going to see the home this week and with the power out and going to the home visit and hearing about the boy's mother, I was feeling kind of hopeless, not sure what God was wanting me to be doing right now and feeling like things were just not going the way I thought they should be going. God is good at making sure I know I'm not in control but he is! So I was sitting in the office, not having much to do and so I asked God, what do you want me to do right now? I've been trying to listen to his promptings more often and ask because it's easy to get so caught up in everything around you that you forget to ask God where he may want you. So, after asking him, I got this urge to go see the girl's home. So, I wasn't doing anything and I went. When I first got there it looked the same except a hole was dug on the outside for the ramp to be built. But the door was wide open and so I walked in and two of the guys working on the house were there and things were being done! It was such a surprise for me and I was filled with hope that this thing might actually be on it's way and might get done in plenty of time before I head home! There was a room off of the kitchen that we decided to close of the door and then put a new door coming out into the study room. They had blocked of the old door and were working on the new doorway! I was very impressed and just was a spirit lifter. I know it will be hard here sometimes and things may not go the way that I want them to go but it's not really me that should be in control, it's God. I need to put my hope in him and know that this is his plan not mine! 

A picture of the front of the house where a ramp will be built.

There used to be no door there.