half a year!

smiling and happy: children from the township

Hello friends and family! It’s hard to believe that next week I’ll have been here for seven months, that's over half a year! It’s been an exciting and challenging season, but I have only scratched the surface. God has been doing a lot in my life and through all He’s been doing, I feel like He has made it clear that my time here in South Africa, and as a volunteer for Thembalitsha, won’t be over at the end of 2013. Here’s a little update on this last month.

Thembalitsha is an organization that is made up of seven different projects. I am committed until the end of this year to one of the seven projects, Village of Hope, but it has always been my desire to visit and help out at the other projects. A couple weeks ago I finally went on the Thembalitsha tour. The tour is one you take usually when you first become a volunteer. Someone from the head office takes you around the Western Cape to all the projects and you get to meet some very inspiring adults, youth and adorable children. I really enjoyed visiting School of Hope, which provides education for at risk and vulnerable youth, ThembaCare Athlone, a medical facility for sick children, and Graceland Preschool. Graceland was the one I was looking forward to the most. This preschool provides quality education to vulnerable little ones in the farming areas who would otherwise have nowhere else to go. Their early childhood development program aims to prepare and stimulate these preschoolers in order to maximize their future success at school and in life. I was really happy to visit there and felt very inspired by what I saw. I am eagerly anticipating the future and how God will use me to help Thembalitsha in a broader way.

Visiting sick babies at ThembaCare Athlone

I mentioned in my last update that I had joined the worship team at my new church, Every Nation Somerset West. I am very excited to be a part of this team and to grow more as a worship leader. It’s amazing to see how the Lord guides you and gives you the desires of your heart, even if it is in a roundabout way or a way I didn’t expect. I had no intention of being involved in worship when I left the states, but I now know that God is leading me in this direction and wants to grow me more. Hey, maybe one day I’ll be able to combine my two loves, music and working with children!

Story time at Graceland!

One last big update… I have decided to take up cycling! Thembalitsha is putting on an event called Cycle to the Sea. It is a 200 km scenic ride, which will be three days of riding that begins at the Village of Hope and ends at Cape Agulhas (the southernmost tip of Africa!) The purpose of the ride is to raise awareness and financial support for Thembalitsha. I know it sounds a bit crazy, especially for someone like me who maybe goes to the gym once a year and a bike ride is a joy ride down PCH on my beach cruiser! But I have committed to doing this because I really believe in this organization and want to help spread awareness. To attend Graceland Preschool and School of Hope each family pays R100 ($10) per month. Families are able to pay such a small amount (which is still a financial sacrifice for them) because of donors and fundraisers. The purpose of this cycling event is to do just that, raise funds for our projects so that small children can have an early childhood education, at risk youth can attend school and be allowed to graduate, mothers can have diapers and a blanket for their newborns. My goal is to raise R3000 (that’s $300), which will cover all my costs over the three days of riding and will also go towards Thembalitsha. This is where you come in, friends! I am asking, if anyone is interested, in donating a little towards this event. $10 or $20 is a very little sacrifice for us, but can impact a life in ways we can’t imagine! I will attach the link to my fundraising page and if you are interested, please follow the link and check it out: http://www.givengain.com/activist/102985/projects/

I am constantly appreciative of all the prayer support I receive from everyone back in the States. It’s very encouraging and a reminder to me that I still have a very strong support system there! The longer I am here, the easier it is to stay. But in a way, it does get harder. My niece gets older, my friends children get older, friends are getting married and having babies, which makes it hard to be gone. But even through all that, I am confident that the Lord wants me here and He is showing me every day that I am a blessed and dearly loved child of His. So thank you to all of you for your love and support!

Prayer Requests:

• Financial provision: to be able to continue on for another year as a volunteer for Thembalitsha.
• For Cycle to the Sea: that there would be no injuries for me or my teammates and that we will all stay healthy during the ride!
• For a car: as a long term volunteer it is necessary to have your own car in order to get around. It's not a safe country to walk around in and there isn't public transport, so a car is really the only way around.