Everyone was interested in going, so we found the chapel in the GPS and made arrangements to meet Dominic and his family at the church (not the building they attend, but he was going to take us to the orphanage after church to introduce us). We picked up the gang at the Jacaranda House, where they were staying, bright and early (7:15 AM). They looked amazingly refreshed considering 22 hours on airplanes.
We found our way there pretty easily and got to see a little of Johannesburg on the way. We went to sacrament meeting, which was nice and then I took the bracelets and went into primary to see if I could give some to the children. Once again, we had more older primary kids than young ones, but everyone wanted a bracelet, so it was fun handing them out.
Liz disappeared into the nursery and we finally made our way there to find her with a child on her lap obviously enjoying being right where she was. We could not get Liz to budge. She stayed there the rest of church.
These cute little guys wanted their picture taken after we gave them the bracelets. Isn't it wonderful how these great Africa people dress up for church?
They all do it, no matter which church they attend or how little money they have.
This is the nursery leader. She looked about 15, but was probably a lot older than that. I'm sure she was glad to have Liz help in the nursery. We gave her a bracelet too!
Liz's mom and sister-in-law joined me in Relief Society. Liz stayed in the nursery (How she found the nursery in a strange building was mind-boggling-kind of like a sixth sense). We were taught a lesson regarding the history of the early saints and the teacher did a good job. As a matter of fact, this branch was running really well. I was impressed with their membership and participation. I am hoping the small branch we attend in Secunda will someday be as great as this one.
After class, we caught up with Dominic and his family and were given instructions on the orphanage location. As we walked to the car we kept getting stopped by the youth asking us for a bracelet. I explained that they may be a might small as they were made for smaller children, it didn't seem to deter them at all. We would hand some out and then get stopped again all the way out to the parking lot. It seems they were especially popular with the older kids.
Finally we got out to the car thinking we had finally made it, when a young man appeared and asked for a bracelet. We gave him his bracelet and he let us take his photo (but wouldn't smile). Then Liz and her mom pulled out the shirts they brought and we found the branch president and asked him if any of the young men could use a shirt. He said, "They sure could." and he took the shirts off our hands. I could tell that he was happy to have the shirts, especially for young men joining the church that are too poor to buy a white shirt and for their missionaries going out in the field. Yea Liz! Great idea.
We could have walked to the orphanage, but
Dominic instructed us to drive (I think he was worried about our safety), so we drove over and parked. Children were already appearing at the fence, excited that we had come to see them.
I armed Liz and Ryan with CTR bracelets to give out to the children and they were mobbed when we went inside. It was obvious that these children do not get gifts very often.
They were very excited by their bracelets. I was worried in the beginning that the children would knock them over. They were all craving the attention. Liz and Ryan handled it very well...her being sweet and Ryan trying to restore a little discipline. Cute.
There were not as many children as usual, because they were without electricity for about a week and it was a bit cold at night. The woman who runs the orphanage called on some favors from the community to help by letting some of the children stay with them, but there were still quite a few there. It didn't take long for Ryan and Liz to find some admirers. This little guy in the blue shirt was not too sure about riding on Ryan's shoulders at first, but later did not want Ryan out of his sight. The problem was he kept trying to hold on to Ryan by covering his eyes. Ryan is keeping the boys hands down in this photo.
Liz was so sweet and compassionate that she would have held all of them if she could, but this guy seemed a bit big for a wee lass to handle. She is stronger than she looks! All the children just wanted to be held, to feel special and to receive some attention. They were all relatively clean and well taken care of by the ladies at the orphanage and it seemed most had a pretty horrific story regarding their lack of parents.
Some other senior missionaries showed up with lunch for the children. They brought hot dogs and cheetos. We brought apples and juice, so they had quite a feast. They said a prayer in unison before their meal and they were all very polite.
They sat at little plastic tables and ate their lunch. They kept showing me their bracelets. Elder Kyle and Bethany helped pass out juice. The children seemed fairly polite and especially liked the cheetos, but they were not like the Cheetos in the US...yuk!... but the kids seemed to like them.
Liz continued to pick up admirers and seemed to love every minute of these children climbing all over her. Her mom was talking to children too and picking up her fair share of admirers as well. Bethany and Walt (in background) are talking to one of Dominic's six children who seemed to feel very comfortable there. What a sweet thing to teach your children...caring for others.
Everyone is happily eating lunch, but not much on manners...lots of open mouths when chewing. Ha. Dominic's children sat right down with them and had lunch too.
Taking photos of the children is fun, because they love to see their picture afterwards. I got a lot of finger prints on my camera by them trying to get a look at their photo. Most of them have never seen a photo of themselves before.
This little boy was just too cute to omit from this blog. He was very young, but seemed pretty smart and not the least bit worried about us grown-ups. He just kept eating EVERYTHING! Ha.
One little girl would not eat, so Liz picked her up and talked to her and hugged her. It took quite a while for the little girl to respond, but eventually, she got the child to eat everything. Amazing. She has a knack with children...hmmm. What a cutie!
This little girl had a sad story and as with all the children maybe some problems with trust. Some children are left due to unwed mothers, some due to their parents dying of aids and some because their parents had addictions that got them in trouble. All of the stories are sad and the children are the ones who suffer, but this day we were able to help in some small way bring some fun and food into their lives. It was great to see other senior missionaries also helping the orphanage, some for over a year. Sister Dabell said that she let her hair grow longer because the children love to run their hands through it. How sweet.
This little boy was facinated with Doug's (Liz's dad) boots. He pulled up Doug's pant leg and then picked up his foot and banged his hand on the side of the boot. He just kept doing this...no one knew why, but it was pretty funny, even to Doug. This went on for quite a while and Doug was very patient with the boy. He didn't say anything, just let the boy keep banging on his boot.
Liz's mom, Adri, was interacting with the children quite a bit and when the older kids started playing instruments and dancing, she really got into it. Dominic's oldest daughter was teaching them how to play the drums and sing a song. One little boy did not need any help. He was quite good, but everyone tryed to bang the drum.
This little boy kept wanting Ryan's glasses and eventually put on my glasses too. When we left, he wanted me to give him my glasses. When I told him I could not see without them, he didn't care. I think he just wanted me to give him something. The glasses were all I had, but alas, I could not give him my glasses or I would not be able to see and we did give him a CTR bracelet as you can see in the photo.
Liz hit it off with the lady who runs the orphanage. She told us that she has been doing this for 25 years. She expressed a desire to go on vacation, but says she doesn't have anyone who can take over for her. If we didn't live 9000 miles away, there is so much we could do to help her. It makes us want to look for these kind of situations at home. I'm sure there are many ways we could help those in need right in our own towns.
She gave us a tour of the place and explained how all of the children climb into bed with her to try and keep warm at night while the electricity is off. Not too long ago the roof leaked and they moved the bed in the only place it did not leak and they all slept on that bed. Someone donated the labor to fix the roof. Someone else finished off the ceiling on the inside and put in cabinets. Another time the kitchen was remodeled and slowly it began to look like a school.
We went into the classrooms and they had fun stuff on the walls and were obviously trying to teach the children all the right things.It is pretty amazing all she has accomplished and the generosity of mostly church members has made a real difference to her and the children. Even with all they have been given there are still challenges. Her electricity keeps getting shut off, because she can't pay the bill. Food is always in short supply. Every-day living expenses are difficult to meet, so they must depend upon donations. There is never enough, but she smiles and doesn't complain...
We were silent in the car for a while and then reflected on our day. We all agreed it was wonderful to contribute and we wish we could do more. It felt good. We felt good. Life is good...
We are in Africa and that has made all the difference!
No comments:
Post a Comment