Dumela!
I feel like I haven’t written a post in a long time so I’ll try and catch you up on everything that has been going on. A couple of weeks ago we had a short term team come from Canada. They were a group of people who had supported BG and had fundraised for them for 5 years. This was their first visit to BG to see what they were supporting. This was my first proper experience with a short term team so I didn’t know what to expect. I had one of the team help out in my house, often when short term teams come it’s a lot of work for long term volunteers as they have to instruct and help short term volunteers complete tasks in the house such as feeding and doing the washing up. I found it a challenge having another person in the house because I had to explain and teach the volunteer what to do. But saying this, it was great to see their reaction to the kids and how much you could see them impacting the volunteer’s lives. It was also great to see what BG is like from a fresh pair of eyes, it made me realise what a great child care centre BG is and how great the house mothers are, a lot of other orphanages don’t have the facilities that BG has. The team also ran a discipleship training course for the staff and a vacation bible study for the kids. They taught different stories from the bible to some of the school aged children and it was great to see them listening and responding to what they were being taught. It’s not often that we get to see our kids in a classroom like environment, this was one of my highlights of the week. Every evening we had ‘family time’ with the team which was a space where people shared their testimonies and we shared how our day went with each other. I can’t tell you how amazing it was to hear people’s stories and how God has worked through each and everyone’s lives. It just really showed me how awesome and faithful God is and how he never leaves us no matter where we are in life.
After the team left it was back to the normal routine. One lunch time my house mothers asked if I could watch the house whilst they were at a meeting. I suddenly felt like I had a lot of responsibility! I was in a house with 14 kids all on my own! Thankfully a lot of them were having their nap time so as long as they didn’t wake up I would be ok. The ones that were awake was a little 3 week old baby and an 8 year old. BG usually only takes kids up to 5 years old but there are 3 expectations; if they have a younger sibling at BG, if they have a disability, or if they’re getting adopted. My 8 year old girl is getting adopted! But the process is long so we don’t know when this will happen. I don’t really get to spend much time with her as she is at school most of the day so I miss out on quality one on one time with her. But I managed to get some with her this lunch, she has a special place in my heart even though she is by far the naughtiest because our relationship is a lot different from the other kids. She is much older than them so it was a lot more natural to have a sister relationship rather than a mother like relationship. She told me that she gets really sad when I’m not at afternoon play group (this time is optional for volunteers, I’m sometimes asleep when afternoon play group is happening!). This really hit me, it didn’t occur to me that my presents at play group was noticeable. A lot of staff and volunteers come down and play with the kids, so it wasn’t as if there was a lack of play buddies. I said I was sorry to her and that I would try and make as many play groups as I could. Since then I have made many play groups and as I walk down the path to the play area, my 8 year old girl always shouts ‘Ausi Emily’ as she sees me coming. This always makes me feel loved knowing that my presences and attention is making a difference in these kids’ lives.
This past week I have been really drained. I received some sad and difficult news about one of my relatives back home, this made me really emotionally drained. I was also really physically drained from the demands of everyday life at BG. I was also suffering with a lack of sleep and tiredness which all ended up with me being sick on Monday and Tuesday. This was the first time that I found my body physically telling me that I need to stop and have a rest. My family are coming at the end of this week and it couldn’t be more perfect timing as their arrival means that I can properly rest and have some time away from BG to refresh myself so that I can continue my time there with new energy.
I hope everyone is well back home!
E x
Comments