Dear Friends & Family,
Wow. I have just got back from South Africa. Minnesota is cold and it is snowing. But it is good to be back. Some of the challenges of coming back that I have had to deal with are: cold weather, having to wear shoes, jetlag…. I am sure there is more, I just don’t know what. ;) All in all it is good.
It has been a while since I have written. Lots of things have happened. Let’s see what I remember.
One of the ministries we worked with was the Justice Dolls. It is A Job Creation Program, for African women with HIV/AIDS. Right now it is very small but growing. The women make these dolls that represent different injustices and seek to bring awareness to them. We met with the women and helped make some doll parts and got to know them. We don’t always try to but a lot of times when we hear someone with HIV/AIDS, we assume they did something wrong or immoral. These women were victims. One of the women Tobega (I am not sure of the spelling) never knew a man but her husband. He ended up being involved with other women and he got HIV and passed it onto her. Tobega has a nine year old daughter, she wonders if she will see her grow up. She dreams of seeing her daughter’s collage years.
They work at a house of this Lady called Mama Edith. Her daughter died of AIDS, and she rents out the house so that she can provide for granddaughter Lolita. She also watches some kids. One day we went there and while my friends helped with the Justice Dolls, I went and played with the kids. There were two, Lolita and Hamzel, that really interacted with me. They were so cute. We played tickle party. They had the cutest giggles. It made my day, hearing them giggle. They would run away but come back to be tickled.
Probably the best parts of outreach for me was giving kids a reason to laugh or smile. These kids don’t always have much to smile about. They come from hard homes and really aren’t given the love that they deserve. They grow up having to be tough and knowing more than a child their age should know. You see their faces at first and then you start interacting, playing, and loving on them and suddenly they blossom. It is AMAZING!
One day we went to this township called Overcome. We decided to bring balloon animals. The kids mobbed us. Everyone wanted at least one. My friend Tammy and I were backed against a wall by like 40 kids. Suddenly it happened. We ran out of balloons. So we did what any normal person would do; an impromptu kids program. We did some kid songs, follow after me actions games and told the kids how much Jesus loved them. It was sweet. We were dying in the heat but having fun. A lot of the kids left when we ran out of balloons but like 15-20 stayed. And for those kids it was worth it.
In the town called Mossi, we did some open air kid programs. For the first one we set out speaker going with music and drew in the kids. There was over 150 of them, plus some adults on the sidelines. We did some songs, skits, our dance and then had a dance party with the kids. They loved it. The second open air we did our speaker wasn’t working. We had had it plugged in to charge it, but forgot to turn on the switch for power. So we ended up putting on clown costumes and played with the kids. Some of us also did face painting. They were two very different times but we did the most important thing with both of them. We loved on the kids.
In Mossi there was a Community Transformation Team there from Kona, Hawaii. They had some of their stuff stolen on Saturday and when we saw them on Tuesday, they were pretty down about it. We were going there on Friday so a friend of mine and myself got this idea. We listened for words for them and make a cake so we could have a party for them. That Thursday we learned that the guy who stole from them came and confessed to them and accepted Christ. We were supper stoked for them. So when we came on Friday they were so excited over all that had happened. And another cool thing is that they were doing a fast and they ended that day. So they could eat the cake. We heard so much after how our words encouraged them. It was pretty cool.
In Mossi there was a Community Transformation Team there from Kona, Hawaii. They had some of their stuff stolen on Saturday and when we saw them on Tuesday, they were pretty down about it. We were going there on Friday so a friend of mine and myself got this idea. We listened for words for them and make a cake so we could have a party for them. That Thursday we learned that the guy who stole from them came and confessed to them and accepted Christ. We were supper stoked for them. So when we came on Friday they were so excited over all that had happened. And another cool thing is that they were doing a fast and they ended that day. So they could eat the cake. We heard so much after how our words encouraged them. It was pretty cool.
Right now we are back at the base and debriefing outreach. It has been good. I got to go back to Homework Helpers. It was fun to see everyone again. I missed them. I got to tell some of my story to them. It was fun as well as interesting.
There is a lot for me to tell but I will end for now. I am looking forward to seeing everyone soon.
Love,
Haleigh
P.S. This is the website for the justice dolls, if you would like to look it up http://www.justicedoll.org/
