O wow, what can I say. Tons has happened in the last month...and so much for me posting updates on here while I was away! It turned out that we had fairly regular access to an email account we were given by TLC but not regular access to anything like facebook or regular email....
On January 10th me and Marian flew from Saskatoon to Johannesburg South Africa to volunteer in an orphanage called TLC (The Love of Christ Ministries). I was there for a month, flew back Feb 8th, and had to leave Marian behind to work for another 2 months :*(
It was amazing, challenging, draining and rewarding all at the same time. I can see how God works even more now that I am home. We would work 0600 - 1900 every day with one day off a week...and usually 1 - 3 hrs off during the day. The first thing I realized when we started was that it was WAY more work that I thought it would be. After my first HALF day of work, I thought I would never make it through a full 13 hr day. I was exhausted. After the first week my back was killing me and I was soo tired all I wanted to do at the end of the day was sleep.
For at least the first two weeks, every day was a struggle for me. I really learned how to rely on God, and give everything over to Him throughout the day. Everyday, many times a day, I would feel like I couldn't do it, then I would remember that I was not doing it alone. God was with me, and at the end of it all I would realize that He got me through it. Some days I knew I didn't have the patience, love and gentleness I needed to give those kids...but all it takes is to ask God to help. And He does.
There was one day in particular that was a real struggle. I was getting very overwhelmed with everything I had to learn and remember. My shift was in the kitchen for 2 hrs, the dishes were stacked high and I had to make up all the bottles...which I had not been shown how to do. Everyone else was busy and I didn't even know where to start. I was about to have a melt down so I went to the bathroom and prayed for God to help me. I knew I couldn't hold it together on my own anymore. It was all too much. At that moment God was completely in charge and He got me through it.
There were so many challenges at TLC. I am not really a kid person to start with, so it really stretched me in ways I never thought of. Many of the kids have special needs, so feeding and getting them to drink their bottles was a struggle most of the time. How do you force a child to drink and eat? For the first week or more when I went back to the cottage at night I could still hear children crying and screaming inside my head. Most of the kids are very happy and wonderful to look after....but they all have their little melt downs every day....especially with the 1 - 1 1/2 year olds.
By the end of the month I was learning to really relax in the times when no one was crying. The work was becoming very rewarding because the children would recognize my voice and give me big smiles when I came into the room. Also with the older kids they were actually listening to me....which helps with frustration levels when kids are misbehaving. Some of the kids really stole my heart. I am deeply missing them. You get very attached when you are the one looking after a child day after day.
In a lot of ways my time at TLC was hard work. I was actually looking forward to coming back to my job here for a break! But all in all I really loved it, and I really loved those kids. I don't miss the work, but I definately miss the babies (and the warm weather!).
God never leaves us, here are some ways He was still at work in my life on my way home.
Everything was going smoothly on the flights home. My first flight was so empty I got to lay down and sleep for 6 hrs. When I reached Minneapolis, after 20 hrs of flying, I was starting to get tired again and was just wishing to be home. But then that last flight was cancelled and I was put on another flight leaving at 0800 the next morning...it was about 2100 (9 pm) by this time....but about 0400 am South African time. I was exhausted, hungry, home sick and scared because this was my first time flying alone. God heard my crys and brought two couples to my rescue. Both of them were from Sask and they were Christians, they even had conections to people in the town I live in! They took me in as their 'adopted daughter' and I spent the night in the airport with them. It was such a comfort to not be by myself. God is so good to me, I think He had it all planned out. My brother happened to have the next day off so he could pick me up, and my dad drove out just to drive me home. Our van almost broke down on the way home, but by another random (God) event we caught it just in time and had it fixed within an hour.
There are so many stories to tell about this last month...but this blog is already getting long. I am sure I am leaving out many things. I would love to talk to you all....I feel like I have been off the planet for a whole month! Give me a call sometime :)
