One step forward, two steps back..

Hello everyone. Well I'll start off this note with saying "God is good and he does answer prayer". Even its just in the smallest ways. After our day of fasting/prayer I think many of us felt God working a little extra in our own lives and we did see small improvement in the leadership at the center. I won't go into too much detail, but lets just say communication wihin the leadership moved up a step - and the responses to situations seemed more positive than they have in the past. We were all very encouraged to hear about these positive things taking place. Then, shortly after it seems as though MIS fell right back into that rut - maybe even a little deeper down. There are many problems right now with the teenagers at the center, things going on there that should not be happening, and the board having to work together to figure out the right way to deal with these situations. Do pray for the board, that they can work together and make the right decisions. I can't imagine it being easy to run a center of over 100 children of all ages. I don't really know what else to say about everything that is going on at MIS, but please pray that issues can be resolved and that everyone can work together and not against one another. The young mothers that got kicked out a while back are still staying somewhere temporarily, but do need jobs and a place to stay soon. It's crazy how difficult it is to get a job here. It now makes sense why so many young people are on the streets. Its sad. Hopefully these ladies can find jobs soon, so then can support themselves and their children.

On another note, I can hardly believe I only have less tan 2 months left! Time is going so fast! I just want to take all our babies home. I'm going to miss them soo much.. I feel like such a horrible person leaving them, just like everyone else leaves them. But I do need to remind myself that God put me here and I am doing what I can while I can, and hopefully I have been able to make a difference in being here. HAPPY NEWS - Our moms an my cousin are coming to visit in July!!! How exciting is that?? We cant wait to introduce them to all the kids and show them what we've been doing the past 4 months.

Well I guess I'll cut this one for today, Until next time!

P.S. Just in case you are curious about the one picture, we've had a volunteer come and build the kids a small play area and they love it!

Day of prayer/fasting

Just a quick note this week. For those of you who read this in time, tomorrow (thursday the 22nd) many of us volunteers at the MIS childrens center along with others will be taking the day to fast and pray. There are many issues going on within the center at the moment which are very difficult, and we know that we cannot handle it on our own. We can see that this is much more spiritual than anything else and we NEED God to interfere if we want to see improvement. We must believe that God is in control and remember that He cares about each child here as well as each one of us. We MUST have faith and not doubt that our God can do anything - there is no measure with God. We pray that God will overcome this evil that resides at the center - we know that He is stronger than it and we have no reason to fear. Please pray for us as we go through this day of fasting and prayer. Pray for our stength physically as we will still be working as normal. Energy is very much needed in working with children. Pray for each of us spiritually, that God will work in our hearts and reveal to us what needs to be revealed. Pray for the leadership of the center - things are not being run as they should be. And if you happen to read this blog after thursday, please do continue to pray - we need the big guy helping us out. Also, do feel free to join us in our day of fasting and prayer as well. Thank you for your support and standing behind me and others as we serve here in Lesotho.

Well.. our weekend at Durham Link with the juniors was busy, stressful, tiring, and a little different than planned, but it was still a fun time. We (MIS volunteers) dressed up as pirates, it was pretty funny. The kids also got to make pirate hats and patches and what not, so they had fun with it all too. Our first evening there we did a disco dance with the kids which they really enjoyed, and it definitely drained all their energy so they slept well:-) On saturday we played some games, they got to go canoeing as well as do some archery and parachute games. They had a bible study with Nic in the afternoon which I believe went well. We also had a campfire in the evening, most of them enjoyed that. Sunday morning they had a sunday school service with Erika and afterwards I played a bunch of relay games with them which suprisingly went really well! Anyways, on that note, the weekend was lots of fun. On another note, the two mothers working at the center (each with 2 kids) got kicked out for no reason. There seems to be alot of mis-communication within the center lately. These ladies showed up at Durham Link on saturday morning with no other place to go. Its just a little frustrating because it was done without the board even knowing. For now, we have found the ladies and their children a temporary place to stay while the board helps them find something permanent. I believe the ladies must speak to social welfare today about what happened. I have no idea what the outcome will be, but I pray that it will be good and God will have his hand in their lives. So if you think of us here in Lesotho, please pray for this situation.. pray for children's center, pray for wisdom within the board, pray for the kids, pray for these young mothers, and also for us - that God will continue to give us strength and encouragement in situations like this, as well as other situations/challenges we face here in Lesotho. Even though life doesn't seem to always go as we would like it to, we must remember that God DOES have a plan and he is in control. Thank you for your prayers and support.

From Me!

Hey again! Well, life is still as crazy here this week as it was last week! Our selling clothes saturday in the village didnt really go as well as planned. It ended up being a super cold, rainy, misty day. Also we had a few obstacles in our way and ended up leaving later than planned, which left us with very little time in the village considering it is almost an hour away and we had to be back by supper. We had some issues/miscommunication before we left the center - which left us pretty frustrated. It's difficult to know how to deal with things here.. Please pray for those involved in the children's center. This weekend we (all us volunteers at MIS) are taking the juniors to Durham Link for the weekend. Its kinda an international youth organization. Its just here in Maseru, but it will be nice for some of the kids to get away from the orphanage for the weekend, since all the older kids already got to go on a trip. It will kinda be like camp, with lots of fun and games, devotionals, singing, and sleeping in bunks. I am in charge of the games on saturday afternoon, should be fun. I am really looking forward to it, and yet at the same time I am sooo tired and pray that God will get me through the weekend with lots of energy! Pray that the trip will go well, that we can build on relationships with the kids and most importantly that they will learn something this weekend that they can apply to their lives here in Lesotho. Pray also for all of us leaders; that we will be good examples for the kids all weekend and that we will be able to have tons of energy to keep us going! On another note.. when Annie and I were walking home today, there was shooting across the street. We didnt see the shooter, but there were forsure five shots and people around us (the streets are crowded) were all a little tense. Its was kinda scarey, so we just kept moving faster to get by. Sometimes it really does get scarey here in Lesotho. So many houses (especially missionary houses) have been broken into in the past couple months, people are being mugged, one lady just got pretty badly beat and robbed last weekend just coming home after work by her gate, random gunshots... it scares me sometimes.. But on the other hand I know that God is good and he is taking care of me. I don't need to be afraid because He is with me always:) Please continue to pray for our safety as well as our health (yupp got another ringworm!). Until next time!

3 months gone already!!

Well 3 months have gone by in a heartbeat it seems! It's seriously crazy how fast time flies out here. You blink and you miss a month, well pretty much anyways. I do look forward to coming home again in July as I miss everyone very much, but its going to be difficult saying goodbye.. I pray that God will give us the strength to do so. Last week we got the chance to take a few much needed days away, and it was very nice and refreshing. We got to go on a small game drive, which was neat. Didn't see terribly much because the weather was quite cool, but thats okay we still had fun. 12 huge giraffes crossed the road right in front of us so that was pretty cool. We also got to go to a small Lion Park where we got to play with and hold lion cubs. How cool is that?? I'll attach a picture for you. Other than that, we just got some good relaxing in to rejuvinate ourselves a little:) Funny though, how the instant we get back, the busy life greets us again! haha. Its all good though, thats just the way things are out here. Annie and I slept at the orphanage last friday night to see what its like. It was alright, not sure if I would choose to sleep there again though. The evening was lots of fun, hanging out with the older kids - kinda reminded me a little of camp. We slept in the girls dormitory. I think the sleeping part is what makes me not want to stay there again. It was cold, someone had their music blaring, they kept the lights on all night, my bed was uncomfortable, not to mention i slept tense because i was paranoid about all the bed bugs.. Yupp that pretty much sums it up! haha. You think we are a little blessed in this world by chance?? I am very thankful for my bed right about now:) We got the chance to go see a South African travelling circus on Sunday, that was pretty fun. We took Melvin and Kari's kids and went with some friends who also volunteer at MIS. It was small, but we enjoyed it. Not often a circus comes to Lesotho! This week so far at MIS has been pretty busy. I'm busy helping Annie with the babies in the morning and I've been working away on the storage room getting everything ready to sell this weekend. We are taking a trip out to a nearby village to sell a bunch of the clothes (we have so many that arent really the greatest) for really cheap, so that we can help the people out there as well as help MIS by getting some more funds in. Hopefully all goes well. The kids are doing great and are growing and developing so fast, I can't imagine what it must be like having your own kids! 3 babies are crawling already since we got here, 1 is walking, some are talking, the list could go on.. and thats in only 3 months!! The smiley baby in my pics is our precious little Roma (Chubb Chubb). Hehehe. He's too sweet, I'm going to really miss that little dork! Can you believe he is going to be 2 in July?? Yupp, he was the one who was very malnutrioned when he came, so he's a little behind. But he's come a long way thats forsure! The little boy in the striped shirt is new at MIS. His mother said if we didnt take him he would throw him in the river. How sick is that? Actually, thats just what some mothers do here to get rid of their babies... very sad. His name is Tyler and hes about 16 months. Hes still pretty shy, but in time that will go away like it always does. The picture with the 3 girls in the blankets are a few of the older girls who dressed up traditionally for a school event they had that day. Face painting, traditional dresses and the Basotho Blanket. Its pretty cool when they get all dressed up like that for school. Well I gotta cut this letter for today, so I'll talk to you again soon. Please continue to pray for MIS staffing/funding, and overall health of the children. Also pray that God will give us the energy to make it through each day. Many thanks, lots of love!

Blog from mwa!

Hello again from Lesotho. I hope that all is well back home and you are all enjoying some nice spring weather:) Our mornings are quite cool now when we leave for work, usually above zero but below ten somewhere. We layer up and head out! During the days when the sun comes out it still gets pretty nice, maybe around 20 celcius. I had a really bad cold at the start of this week and wasn't feeling so well, but with lots of rest and some yummy tea I am doing much better! Myself, Annie, Wilma and Sylvia are taking some Sesotho Lessons, its pretty fun. The words are so difficult to say and it takes a lot of practice, but we are slowly learning some things. We are learning about progressive pronouns right now, how fun?! hahaha. The children are absolutely loving the new shelter and play there all the time, what a wondeful blessing from the ausi team. Nick (one of the youth volunteers) has just started up a bible study for the older children and it seems to be going so well. Pray that this will be able to continue and that God will use him in each of the lives of these children. Also that when he leaves in July, someone will take over what he has started. We've been having some issues with the staff at MIS - they are not all getting along so well. I think a lot of it happens because we are short staffed and these workers are working all the time and are not taking well scheduled breaks. Please pray for our staffing issue that we can get good staff that will stay long-term at the center, and also that there will be the funds needed to pay each of the staff. We will really be needing volunteers beginning in July - minimum 6 months. If you know of anyone who is interested, please let myself or wilma know. This week I've felt a little homesick - probably partly because I wasn't feeling so well and also we are pretty much at our half way mark right now. It really brings a lot of mixed feelings. Its going to be difficult to leave and I know we will feel empty because we are so used to caring for children and suddenly we won't be. This is one incredible experience to have at such a young age and my view on life will never be exactly as it was before. God has been stretching me here and it isn't always easy, but i know that it is only for my good, shaping me into who he has designed me to be. This is only a portion of God's plan for my life - only the beginning. "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord; plans to prosper you and not harm you; plans to give you a hope and a future" - Jeremiah 29:11. God is good and although I don't know what the future holds and sometimes it gets frustrating, I know that my life is in His hands and He will always be taking care of me. He only wants good things for us, whether we choose to accept them or not, is our choice.. Thank you for being my support and praying for me.

RATS!

So how do you all feel about rats???? lol. I'm doing a lot of work in the storage room this week - its a crazy mess and there's so much to do!! (couple photos for you). So yeah, in the meantime a few rats have decided to make this room their home. Lucky me working in there everyday! Today I found one looking right at me only a few feet away. Talk about huge and ugly. Me and a few of the girls working at the center tried to chase it out, then it came running towards us and lets just say a little fear crept out of me! We lost him somewhere in the room and he is still hiding I'm sure. I just keep a nice little shovel beside me in case I need to do some rat killing, haha. Can you picture me with that kinda courage? Yeah, me neither! Well, the Ausi team has finised the Rain Shelter! Its great and the kids really like it. I'll throw up a picture of it. Its so great to have teams come here and do big projects like this. I'm getting a little frustrated with my ringworm - yupp, still got it. Its just incredibly itchy! It's crazy to think we've been here over 2 months already. At first it was hard for me to settle into everything again and I found myself missing home quite a bit. Now each day just gets better and better and I come home each day feeling happy and fulfilled. I'm loving it! It's all in the relationships we are building, God is really blessing me through these people. The young mothers my age that are now working for the centre are so great. Attached is a pic of Annie and I with these young ladies, all in pink today! I love the friendships we are building here:) Thank-you for your support and prayers. God bless!