Hello all!  Everything is going great here… what a good day.  It was warm and beautiful.  I went for a run this morning (don’t worry, I was with amy and jimmy)and then I wanted to go and minister to a little place i saw hidden in the trees on the way to the lion park.  So Daniel, the boys, one of the girls from here and myself packed up all the toothbrushes and toothpaste and hit the road. 

 

This place was so cool (cool in the way it made me feel, of course not in the way that they are forced to live).  You can not get into this community by car.  You can see it from the road, but we had to park just off the road and walk.  I was a little worried how they would ‘receive’ us because we didn’t really have an agenda but i really wanted to go and show them that we care and maybe i could find some needs that could be met. These shacks are woven into the trees, amongst hills and bushes.   So, we started with a few children we saw on the edge of this place called ‘swazidinga’ (at least that is how it sounds).  They were playing in a pile of dirt.  We gave them toothbrushes and toothpaste.  Soon there were several families coming out of the woodwork (pun intended) wanting toothbrushes.  They loved them.  As we walked farther into this place, the most noticeable thing was how quiet it was.  All you could hear were bare footsteps in the dirt (do you know what that sounds like?), a woman doing her washing in a tub and at one point a young man riding a bike through and you could hear the rattling of his chain.  Because there is not electricity, there were no tv’s or radios blaring.  It was so peaceful.  They were very welcoming and of course eager to have a toothbrush.  I noticed one family looked to all be very thin and ‘sickly’ so i plan on going back there later in the week to see if they have any needs.  Of course i am going to have to try and find the same path to go down first…J

 

Then we came home and we had a ‘garage dwellers’ cleaning session.  We all took on a job and we cleaned our little garage…. it smells so much better now.  Everyone pitched in (Daniel was very elusive during the cleaning time, another trait he said he learned from his dad) J I wouldn’t say we are ‘sparkling’ now, but better.   Tomorrow, Nandy comes again to do counseling for the girls and then i think they have an ‘outing’ planned for later. 

 

We are considering going to
cape town in the next couple of weeks, but so far, it is just the boys, Daniel and myself considering going, so i don’t know if we will do that.  It would help with the cost to have some more people go with us…so, we are hopeful. J 

 

Andrea, it is good to hear from you, thanks for taking such good care of lucy.  Susan, don’t be in too good of shape because i am going to be a super slow runner when i return…Anna, can you send a picture of Amanda, Katie and Molly?  Thanks to my patient (won’t say your name) for sending the beautiful letter and pictures of Truman.  I really appreciated getting something in the mail.  Darlene, i miss you, tell the girls, andy and marty hi for me.  Mischele, lisa fell asleep on my lap today and i gave her a kiss for you when  laid her down, still praying…. To the boys friends- thanks for all the messages, they read them all the time, they can’t always respond (or are too busy too) but they love to hear from all of you.  Mom, can you make a hair appointment for me with kate in the first couple of days i am home?  i cut my hair yesterday myself and am realizing how much i love my hairstylist.  J 

 

I have found the best spot in the mornings… i climb up in the tree house with my porridge and cup of tea or instant coffee and watch the sun rise…. Wow, an African sunrise is almost as good as the sunsets.  Nothing quite compares to seeing the milky way though and the big yellow moon suspended in the sky with all the clusters of lights surrounding it.

 

Dreaming of my bed……..

 

wbh

 

Lots of love, please don’t stop praying for us,

Jennifer, Joseph and James