Watching Ron as he fit the children for shoes – his face was glowing.  I couldn’t help but think that this was a moment he had been dreaming and praying about for a long, long time.

Joining the children as they taught us their songs and dancing was something we will all remember.  Some of the children were tremendously talented – in dance and in song.  You couldn’t help but think about all the gifts these children have to offer the world – if only given a chance.

It was difficult and, yet, inspiring to learn from Lesego (our 19 year old volunteer teacher) of the loss of both her parents when she was in her early teens.  Even as she struggled with this tragic loss during high school, she reached out to the leaders in her community to gain support for teaching children that were not able to travel the 10 kilometers to school each day.  As a reminder that the wounds left by the immense suffering in this part of the world don’t heal easily or quickly, Lesego shared that she struggles quite a bit on "Parents Day” – as she watches the lucky children who still have parents to join them.  She noted that the struggle of dealing with poverty and illness is even more difficult without the support of a parent.

Mr. Tau, Headman for Top Village, referred to their Kosi (Chief) during his speech.  Melody was struck at that moment by the fact that we all have the same "Chief" – our Lord, Jesus Christ. 

The Lord’s Light was shining through the faces of children and team members on Thursday as they sang, played and, reluctantly, said goodbye.

Time with the elder women during High Tea provided many memorable moments.  Many were touched by their spontaneous singing, dancing and giving of African names to members of the La Casa Team.  It was a joy to see their excitement in sharing their culture with us.

Jerry was still blushing when someone described the special moment when young Opheto gave him a goodbye kiss on the cheek.

In a time when most of our children are taking and sharing photos on their mobile phones, it was moving to see the looks on the children’s faces as they received our simple gifts – framed photos, construction paper photo albums, and (most of all) their uniforms, hats, gloves, shoes and backpacks.

Hearing “I love you” from one of the young girls as we said our goodbyes left one team member in tears.

Deb noticed that most of the children didn’t have socks – and those who did were wearing socks we would have thrown away.  Then she was struck by the enthusiastic “YES” from one the young lady trying on shoes… even though the pair she was trying on at that time clearly didn’t fit.  There is just so much we take for granted.

The glory of God came shining through as the children led us in their version of “This Little Light of Mine.” (It's a REALLY COOL version and we can't wait to share it with you!)

It’s always nice when things go just as planned.  But it was great to see the team pull together so well when things just weren’t going according to plans during the distribution of uniforms and shoes. 

Ron and Diane were touched by the young lady who just couldn’t let go of Ron’s hand and the gracious and sincere “thank you” from a young boy when Diane helped him with his photo album.

It was great to spend time in discussions with the “Adopt a Village” Pastors as we discussed surprisingly similar ideas, concerns and prayers. 

Hearts were almost broken watching the deep concern on one little boy’s face as he awaited his turn for his uniform.  He was clearly worried that he was going to miss out.  This had special meaning as we had observed the tremendous disappointment on the face of a woman who had come running (with her baby wrapped to her back) across the village the day before, only to learn that we had just run out of the t-shirts we had brought to share.

It’s hard to describe the impact of watching two small children patiently sharing the same bowl during (the feeding program) lunch in the village.  Keep in mind -  for most, this is their only meal of the day.

It put things in perspective to hear Lesego (the young teacher we worked with this week) comment on the impact of our time with the kids.  She offered, “You have no idea what you ’ve done for these children.”

Hearing that a number of the teachers feel that there is little hope for these children to learn English or accomplish anything.  Classrooms barely large enough for 20 students - one teacher, 60 children – not enough room to write…

Prayer Requests