Blessed! (Week 38)

The grass is now cut, updated pictures next week! 

The girl's home is finally feeling like we might be able to move into it by the end of March!!!! This week they finished most of the renovations on the inside of the home. We had a cleaning lady come Tuesday and Wednesday to clean the home. There are a few minor details of the home that need to be fixed but on Monday (3/25) we are to have our bunk beds and curtains and be able to start moving furniture into the home finally! I have been trying not to get my hopes up and say anything about the home because I've been saying for weeks that it's going to be opening soon but I think it's actually going to happen in the next week or so! I know the timing wasn't what I had planned or what anyone had planned. We all thought it would be open a lot sooner but this is all in God's timing and I know his timing is perfect!

Some other things that happened this week. Tuesday was my birthday! (I love birthdays!!!!) I was beyond blessed on Tuesday! I got to talk to Rebekah, my sister, and then my parents called from church and the staff there all wished me a happy birthday! I got a call from my grandparents and of course all the fb messages from family and friends! I also, got a video of my sister, Rachel, singing Happy Birthday to me! I know I'm 25 years old and I shouldn't care so much about my birthday but sometimes I think it's nice to feel special. I think God gave each of us our special day so we could know how special we are to Him and to those around us. My friends here also made me feel very special! We went out for dinner in the evening, they gave me flowers, candy, and some jewelry from Imvelo, which is an Manzini Youth Care money generating project. I got sung happy birthday three times that night!  It was a bit embarrassing! Haha! The waiters and waitresses also sung to me and I got a free dessert. So, a day where I could have felt homesick, I was extremely blessed!

On the opposite end of the spectrum but still a blessing, Saturday, myself and some of the other volunteers, were heading to a waterfall for the afternoon to go swimming. We were on our way and traffic was heavy but moving along when all of the sudden the guy in front of me (I was driving by the way) slammed on his brakes, so I slammed on mine, and the person behind me did as well. None of us hit each other until another car came and smashed into the back of the car behind me which caused a domino effect, the car behind me hit me and I hit the guy in front of me. We called the police, he took our statements and then we were free to go. I had some whiplash, and my back is very sore and I'm sure some of the others in the cars did as well. The guy who crashed into us had not been wearing his seat belt and hit his head on his windshield but he just had some scratches on his head and was okay. So we were all extremely blessed, lucky, whatever you want to say, that no one was seriously injured. This was my first accident I've ever been in so I was a bit in shock and this morning when I was driving to church I definitely was very anxious behind the wheel. Even though there wasn't a lot of damage to the van and no serious injuries (which I thank God for), it's going to take me sometime to feel okay when I'm driving. I'm not going to let the fear of that accident stop me from driving, that is why I knew I had to drive this morning to church. I seriously thought about not going at all. But I am eventually going to have to get over that fear and drive at some point anyway, so why not start right away to get over it. God protected us yesterday and I am truly blessed and thankful that no one got seriously hurt.

“I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.' So we can say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?” -Hebrews 13:5-6

A change of pace (Week 37)

This week was much different from the past couple weeks. I decided this week that I was not going to just go, go, go. I wanted it to be a bit more laid back. So I focused more on the relationships with the kids and other volunteers. I helped my three kids from Mangwaneni sort out books for their classes. On Tuesday, I went to a sports day for some of the schools in the area. I got to watch some of our boys run! (They are crazy fast!) I spent some time with one of our volunteers who left this past Wednesday, which was nice to do before she headed home! Then, on Wednesday night, I got a call from Tenele, the 18 year old girl with a baby who is going to move into the girl's home when it opens. She told me she had a problem. Some guy had come into her house drug her into the woods to rape her but forgot a condom. He told her to stay there or he'd kill her, so while he was going to get the condom she ran away. There wasn't much I could do at 10pm at night for her. She told me her and Lucia, her daughter, were going to stay with a friend. So the next morning, I tried to phone her but it was off. So, I went to Mangwaneni to find her. When I found her, she told me more of what happened the night before. She shared that after the guy came to her, he went to her friend and ended up staying outside her door until 3am. I asked her if she wanted to report it to the police. She did. So, myself, Tenele, and her two friends went to the police station. They talked with a lady police, reported the man and were told to call the police if he showed up again. So prayers for Tenele's continued safety would be great. She needs this girl's home asap.But I know that God has his hand of protection over her.

Ayanda being awesome and cleaning the bathroom!

Speaking of the girl's home though. It looks like they have finally finished the renovations. There is outside work to be done but the inside is said to be done. I have gone and seen it and have seen just one or two things that need fixed and then everything needs cleaned really well. I was able to go with Ayanda, another girl who will move into the home, and do some cleaning this weekend but we need more people to get the job done quickly. We ordered bunk beds last week for the home and they are to be finished for this week. So hopefully, as I probably have said for the past few weeks, the home will be ready for girls to move in by the end of this week! I am getting tired of waiting and fighting for this to open. I just keep thinking how this home could've been opened so much sooner. I think I am feeling drained and overwhelmed with everything. But I think this past week was good to focus on some other things other than the home. It helped distract me from the stress of it all! So continued prayers for the home to open soon and for some extra energy and passion for me would be greatly appreciated! I want to be able to go into the home refreshed and ready to work with these girls. I want to be able to give them all that God has for me to give them!   

Is it done yet? (Week 36)

I had a very busy week this week, as the past few weeks have been, with trying to get the home up and running, while still doing my other duties. It has been a struggle the past few weeks with the girl's home almost being done but the workers taking their time finishing up! It's hard to buy furniture when you can't put it in the home until it's ready. Last Friday, we had gone to an auction and on Monday and Tuesday we went back because the guy in charge was giving us whatever was left over for free! So, we got plates, tea cups, computers, and other things to use in the girl's home and the boy's homes. It was a very generous donation from the Esibayeni Lodge (they were the ones who had the auction). Wednesday, the Volunteers and Father Larry, director of MYC, had a meeting about some challenges we have been facing. It has been a struggle for the volunteers to interact with the people in the office at MYC. We often have run into rude responses and have heard many things they have said behind our backs. There has been a huge lack of communication between the two of us. Personally, I don't have much of a problem as some of the others do but I have been on the receiving end of rudeness or people being stand offish towards me, even when I am super nice to them. Anyway, it was good for us volunteers to be able to express to Father Larry our concerns and frustrations with some of the staff at MYC. Father Larry was very understanding. It will be interesting to see how things change or if they change in the future.

The beginning of the week, was go, go, go and I was really pushing to find the furniture that we needed and get things going but my pushing was only hurting me and not helping. I was becoming more and more frustrated as the week went on because things weren't getting done and I was not doing what I wanted to be doing, which was buying the furniture and getting ready to move into the house. I feel like I have a million and one responsibilities, with buying the furniture, getting paperwork and such ready for when the girls move in, writing job descriptions, and still helping out some with the boys. I feel like I am the only one who cares if this home opens or not. (I know that is unfair of me to say because I do have some help here but in general I feel like I'm fighting this battle alone on Swazi soil!) Wednesday afternoon was my breaking point. I wanted to be searching for furniture but because of certain circumstances I couldn't right away and then when I finally was able to I was annoyed and didn't care to look at what was there. I decided that evening, that Thursday morning I needed to just relax some and take a breather. Me pushing to find the furniture and get things moving just wasn't working. So Thursday morning I took some time and relaxed, worked on some of the job descriptions for the staff of the girl's home and just spent some time alone which helped Thursday and Friday go much smoother then the beginning of the week. I wasn't forcing things to happen, I wasn't rushing things, I was just letting them happen and working not to stress about them. Because honestly, stressing about things doesn't help. By the end of the week, we have our bunk beds ordered and know where we need to go to purchase the other things we need once the home is ready! I felt much better by the time Friday rolled around. I really hope that the girl's home opens soon! I want these girls to have somewhere safe to stay but God's timing is perfect and when it is time the home will open!  

Week 35

This week I have been searching for furniture for the girl's home. Monday morning, we went and found a gas stove and freezer/fridge that will work well for the girl's home. (we are waiting to purchase them until they can be moved into the home though.) In the afternoon, we went on a home visit to one of our boys who had been really worrying that his family was okay. His dad had been beating his mom and little sister. It appeared that the father was no longer coming around the home and now they were just worried about money for food! It seemed like things were doing better than before as the boy had explained. We are going to follow up on the situation. Throughout the rest of the week I did some work for the girl's home, some paperwork for the girl's when they enter the home, rules, code of conduct, etc. On Wednesday, I also went and saw the home. It is looking really good! I am excited to see it this coming week and start being able to move things in! I think this is the week! As long as we get all the furniture we need. I think we could be in the home by the end of the week! But I'm going to take it one day at a time and see how things go! Thursday, I did some more furniture shopping and figuring out which deals are the best to buy. We also had a girl's home meeting in the morning. We had some different opinions on how the home should be staffed and who should be in those positions. So we had a meeting to discuss all of it. At first, it was a bit discouraging hearing what was said. To explain a little bit, I had wanted a house manager, house mother, and volunteer. So, when I leave in June there is more than one person left in the home. I had a house manager all lined up. She is a great worker, would have the home clean and the girl's taken care of and would do a great job at supervising the house mother. But, the office didn't want her in the home. I'm still not quite sure why? In our meeting I had some support from Michelle, the project manager and volunteer. We both fought to have the house manager in the home. I trust her and I wouldn't have felt comfortable with just the house mother. So, we compromised. They wanted to take the house mother from another home and we get to have our house manager! In the end everything worked out well. Friday, I spent all day at an auction run by some lodge near by. They had loads of stuff that we are able to use in the girl's home. We got sheets, blankets, silverware, plates, bowls, a table, love seats, etc. It was a long day but I finally feel like we are making some progress on things we are purchasing for the home! So, things are coming along well.  

( Most recent pictures of the home can be found on facebook)