Laying on the floor…

Love this! Here are some of my favorites with my comments in italics:

I’m a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world.

Lord, here I am, send me. Keep breaking my heart for what breaks yours. Let Your love overflow.

No moment from my God is a rock of burden…it’s just a rock waiting to be broken apart into stepping stones.

Even this moment…this moment when I’m laying on the floor crying. You are using it to make a stepping stone toward something beautiful.  You are the potter. I am the clay.

choose joy

here am I. I choose You tonight and Your joy.

if what you do does not resonate with you… it is not really going to matter to anyone else.

talking about passion gets me energized and makes me come alive. talking about kids and life changes and God completely invading your heart…yeah, that’s the good stuff.

some pursue happiness..others create it

I may not control the circumstances, but I choose joy and I choose to let God give abundant life in Him.

fashion your life as a garland of beautiful deeds.

let everything I say and do be a reflection of You.

Finished!

Woot! After weeks of hard work, we finished the house!  From building the walls to ditema, we pressed on toward the goal.  I can’t believe that I participated in nearly every part of building a house from bottom to top.  I touched cow dung.  I mixed dirt and water to make bricks.  I painted the designs on the sides of the house.  But, more than that, as an intern group, we came together.  We worked as a team to help each other out and encouraged each other to keep going despite the tasty smells and exhaustion that comes with hard work.  I am so thankful for how Tara and Andrew faithfully played with cow dung and smeared it on the walls.  For how Allen spent weeks prepping and putting the roof on the house.  For Chelsea’s singing and smiling face.  For Jen’s patient endurance.  For Amiel’s willingness to make mud and more mud and more mud.  For how Kelly and other staff members faithfully drove us to work on the house.  For Sam going to get water.  For the kids who gave us much needed play breaks.  Now, we have one more week to plant a garden, say our good-byes, and give the kids lots of hugs knowing that this house will stand as a testimony of God’s love for years to come.

Just to Be With You

More often than not, whether at the park or at Hope House or anywhere with kids, I find myself with a new hair style.  Sometimes cute.  Sometimes full of knots.  Sometimes I leave just a little bit messier. Simply put, I love it.  I’ll take messy hair any day as long as it means I get to spend time with these kids and hear their stories and sometimes even just be with them without saying much.  Just being there to show them I’m here to hang out with them and I care while letting the hair break down the barriers and open up doors to relationships and conversation.

Pressing On

Nanowrimo weekly update: I am officially at 6,365 words!!! Still quite a ways to go, but I’m pretty happy with the progress. Not to mention that I’m absolutely loving writing about “God-threads” and fictionizing (yes, I made that word up, but I like it) events from a different perspective.  Here’s to 43,635 words to go!

p.s. I had a fabulous weekend full of worshiping on a mountain, eating pizza with some awesome people, playing spades, going on a walk, laughing, playing with kids at the park, and obviously some writing.  How was your weekend?

Weighty

I stood at the doorway waiting to bring in the Jell-o for the game to see who could eat it the fastest through a straw.  My eyes watched the room from afar.  Looking at the wide range of emotions on the kids’ faces and seeing their reactions to counting stickers.  When I looked closer, I saw and felt hope.  These kids live at Hope House.  A House that can be filled with Hope.  An expectation of things to come, the potential for changed lives filled the room.

Suddenly, my attention turned to a cry from outside the room with commotion.  I turned to see what happened.  Katleho (above) sat on the floor crying.  I asked what had happened to find out that he had fallen forward with his head hitting the floor first.  A bump already popped out and a previous scar from another fall stood out.  My heart reached out with my hands as I tried to hold his hand.  The caretaker tried to drag him to his feet by grabbing his hand, but I went behind asking if I could carry him into the kitchen.  I picked him up, not noticing the wetness, and sat with him on the floor.  I asked the caretakers about Katleho’s seizures and if he was taking his medicine along with if he was up for adoption.

Desperately, I wanted to take him home with me along with all the other kids.  I wanted to hold them in my arms and give them the one-on-one attention they crave.  Yet, more than that, I wanted to show them that I believe in them.  I believe they can.  I don’t want to say, “I can do this for you.” I want to empower them and overwhelm them with love. To feel the weight of the glory of God and the weight of His love for them.

1 Corinthians 13:7 “Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything”

Stories

Yesterday, we met some of the kids at Hope House.  Today, we’re meeting Katleho.  He comes to our LaunchPad class at Clubview every Tuesday.  He came last term for our “Becoming A Contagious Christian” curriculum and he’s coming this term as well for “Christ in You.”  He sits in the back row of the class with a couple of his friends.  Last term, he didn’t talk much, seemed more interested in other things, but still had a touch of curiosity and he even came up to talk with me once after class.  Yet, despite all this, I could tell he wanted more.  Even in this picture, you can see a glimpse of his personality, his curiosity, his hope.  LaunchPad is one of my favorite parts of the week. Why? Because I absolutely love seeing lives transformed through God working through engaging curriculum and personal relationships.  I can see the difference in Katleho’s eyes as he comes to class and how he interacts compared to last term.  I see him prompting and delving into the discussion questions with his friends.  I am excited for God’s work in him and am expectant for even more.  Pray with me for the kids in the LaunchPad classes for radical transformation to be evident in their lives!

Come Alive

A little over a year ago, God laid on my heart a desire to serve, to go, to experience, to put into practice all my “book smarts.”  Passion rose up in me when I talked about going and the things that I would do here.  Everything was new.  I had never been here.  I didn’t know the people.  But my heart was already full of passion, excitement, and determination to see change.

Last night, I talked with my roommate for hours about that same passion.  I articulated my heart in ways that I hadn’t spoken out loud before.  Except this time, I see the faces.  I see the bare feet.  I see the laughter.  I see the hurt.  I see the potential.  I know the people.  I have my own stories.  I work with people who share stories and passion for these people.  I have them in my heart.  I come alive when I talk about my passion for South Africa, for the kids here, for discipleship, and for the amazing ways God shows up, how He relentlessly pursues us,  and how big He is.

What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?

Often when you ask kids what they want to do when they grow up here, you’ll receive and “I don’t know” or some other response.  But, today, I loved the response I got from these two boys.  They both play soccer.  They’re about 13 years old.  One of the boys told me that he wanted to be an engineer and the other wants to be a policeman.  One even had a computer in his house.  I felt like I was back in the States for a second hearing that they play video games, watch Transporter 3, computer games and play sports.  Sometimes I find myself entrenched in the culture that I need a healthy reminder that kids in the States have a completely different life.  They have parents, shoes to wear, toys galore, events to attend, sports to play, new clothes, dreams for the future and so much more.  I love helping these kids see their potential and see that they can grow up to be something amazing.

love.love.love.

I am so excited to show my parents a glimpse of my heart today…

Days at the Park

I get to play at the park in Intabazwe tomorrow and I am pumped!