stepping in for a moment

From Friday 17 April

The kids were in a very peculiar mood today. Joe was especially grumpy – fighting with the other kids and totally testing his limits. I have a suspicion it had to do with him having to share my attention with other kids, since it seemed to peek at times when other kids were sitting on my lap. It caused quite a scene during our attempted playgroup though. One minute all the kids are having a blast and the next their flipping each other off and saying words in Afrikaans that I’m are not nice words. I know most of their frustration comes from having to share when they are used to not having much. It’s a difficult concept to be teaching them. At one point today I had to put Othathali and Joe in their beds (which are over sized cribs) with the rails up and the curtain drawn. I think we had all just had enough. Taking a timeout from them did give me some time to give some personal attention to Missy though. That made her happy. She came alive again, smiling and laughing with me. I was glad to see that positive turn around.

Othathali was discharged today and Joe calmed down a lot after she left. At one point he was sitting in bed singing to himself. I heard him singing the “Cast your burdens. Come to Jesus, for He cares for you…. Higher, higher, higher, higher, etc.” song. You know the one I’m talking about? Everyone sings it when they come back from Africa. Anyway, I had learned it from my cousin when she came back from Africa, so I started singing it with him. He was so excited that I knew the song. After that he sang, “I’ve got peace like a river.” It was really fun to sit there and sing with him. I absolutely love African voices singing – especially the kids. It was also a neat connection to make with Joe. When a patient makes it apparent that they cope with spiritual tools, it opens a door to offer ministry that I’m not always allowed to give, which is a neat connection.

Friday night Tami, Caroline and I set out for our “Girls Weekend.” Tami and I thought it was funny to call it that – since we don’t have any other kinds of weekends here, but the concept was the same. ☺ We rented a car and drove to Stellenbosch. It’s an adorable little town out in the vineyards. We settled in at a little hotel and ate at a really cute bistro before calling it a night.


From Saturday 18 April

We woke up Saturday and explored Stellenbosch. It’s an adorably quaint town with lots of shops and restaurants. It felt so peaceful after the hustle and bustle of the city. No matter how much I’ve tried to blend in to this city – I am definitely a country girl at heart.

After exploring the town, we continued on the rest of our road trip around the cape. It was a little rainy, but still beautiful. Along our drive we passed by some of the townships in the area. This was the first time I had the opportunity to observe life in these areas. It’s very different from the city. People live in tiny tin houses crammed together. It’s very dirty and not very safe. My one regret about this trip was that I didn’t get the opportunity to get in and work in the townships. It’s not a place you can go on your own and the opportunity didn’t present itself, so I have to accept that perhaps it wasn’t the place for me this time. Danielle, one of our new CLS’s, however is going to start burn outreach and education programs to some of these areas so I’m really excited to see how that turns out. There is so much poverty in these townships and they stretch for miles and miles. It made such an impact on me just to see them.

We stopped at a number of beach, fishing, cape towns along our route, taking our time and exploring what the area had to offer. We visited the penguins at Boulder Beach. They were everywhere! We ended up in Simon’s Town and stumbled upon the cutest bed and breakfast - Cornerhouse. The French woman that owned it was named Briggitt and she took us in for the night.

Oh! I almost forgot! I was able to drive on the left side of the road today for the first time ever. The hardest part was remembering the turn signal was on the right side instead of the left. I only turned the windshield wipers on a few times trying to trade lanes. ☺ It was almost weirder to drive after not doing so for 6 weeks than it was to be driving on the left side of the road. I had a fun time (not sure if Caroline and Tami felt the same way)! ☺

From Sunday 19 April

Sunday we woke up to find the cape totally covered in dense fog and rain. We had planned this to be the day we took the big trip down to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. We were slightly bummed, but decided to proceed as planned – regretting that we hadn’t brought the appropriate rain gear with us. After a breakfast of coddled eggs, we headed to the tip of the continent (well – the southwestern most tip at least). It rained most of the time, but the fog lifted enough ever now and then for us to see where we were and add just a bit of mysteriousness to the morning.

At Cape Point we found a trail out to the old lighthouse, but the sign said it was a dangerous trail and would take 1.5 hours to complete, so we didn’t take it. I was pretty bummed because I felt like I hadn’t really been to the tip of the cape unless I walked to the end. We all had flip flops on and the fog kept rolling in and out, so we decided it wasn’t safe. When we got to the gift shop, though, I asked one of the workers about the trail. She said it wasn’t dangerous, we could do it in 40 mins out and back, and our flip-flops would be just fine. We made sure she knew what we looked like before leaving for the hike – just in case. ☺ We kept thinking what a great scary movie the three of us would make, but thankfully we made it to the end and back – in the 40 minutes without any problems. The fog even lifted enough for us to see some of the other mountain ranges. Caroline commented that God must have lifted the fog for us because by the time we got back it had settled back over our path. We were very grateful.


After Cape Point we drove to the Cape of Good Hope – the most southwestern tip of Africa. Some people think it’s the most southern, but if you look at a map you see it’s not – hence the most southwestern. It was so beautiful to watch the waves crashing against the rock…and to feel so close to Antarctica. ☺

We continued our trip along the cape – watching baboons and ostriches along the way. It was such a wonderful time with my good friends. We were discussing on the way back how amazing it is that just a few weeks ago we didn’t know each other and now we are great friends. It has been such a blessing. I told them how worried I was about the friends I would make on this trip, and that they had been a wonderful answer to my prayers. I can’t say again how thankful I am for them and for the wonderful time we’ve been able to spend together.

From today, 20 April 2009

My last Monday at the hospital (next week is – you guessed it – another holiday!). I was able to spend some quality play time with a couple of the boys and saw some amazing turn arounds. Play has become such an integral tool for me here. I know that’s what CLS is all about, but sometimes at home some tend to shay away from that role because other see it as – “just playing with the kids.” But when you understand the importance of play, the purpose it serves, and the impact it has on kids and their ability to heal, you realize that there is no greater tool than the ability to “just play.” So I have embraced that role in my work here and hope to take it back to the US in full force. ☺ The 2 boys I played with today had really rough weeks last week. One of them, Will, had spent last week just lying in his bed. He didn’t want to play, but would just lay and let people rub his legs. Today, he was full of play! He laughed and sat with me, read books, and blew tons of bubbles! It was so amazing to watch his interactions and see what a difference had occurred in him. The other little boy I had mostly worked with in dressing changes. He never really seemed very fond of playing with me. I think he associated me with the treatment room and didn’t enjoy that reminder. But today we were able to make huge play strides. He read books, blew bubbles, and laughed and played in ways he hasn’t done since he’s been here. It will be interesting to see how his dressing goes tomorrow. Now that I’ve had the opportunity to build that trusting play relationship, I hope he can accept my support in the treatment room as well. It was amazing to see and an awesome reminder of the power of play!

I’m having quite the range of emotions as I prepare to leave this place. This South Africa Project is not mine. I was just here to provide support to those who are developing the program. However, it’s difficult to come and invest yourself in something and then walk completely away from it, never knowing if it will cross your path again. But as I’ve struggled with this – I’ve realized this experience is not about me – it never has been. This experience is about the opportunity to touch the lives of others and lift them up. If that means stepping in for a moment and then stepping away for a lifetime, then I am thankful for that opportunity. I’ve learned the importance of not lifting myself up, but lifting up others. Not worrying about my own success, but how to help others succeed. I think in the world I come from, we focus so much on our own successes and how to get ahead. But while I’ve been here, I’ve been learning the lesson of how much greater joy comes when we help others succeed and when we lift them up. I know that my life lies open before me. I trust that as I turn it over to God, He will continue to guide me through this fabulous adventure of life in ways far greater than I ever imagined!