Lesotho Mountain Climb!

Yesterday I got to climb a mountain in the middle of Maseru, it was incredibe! I went with a few friends and I really enjoyed it. Once to the top, you could see pretty much all of the city, except for areas which were hidden by other mountains. It was so beautiful to stand so high and look down at everything! Although, it was a super hot day (+36 in the sun), drank a lot of water. We had a neat little experience as well as we travelled up - wonder if God had any part in it:) We met this young boy who was shepherding his sheep near the mountain, and he ended up showing us the way up. It turned out there were areas in which us girls could not have made it up the rocks without his hand. Personally I think that was God, just being there when we needed him, through a young shepherd. Neat hey? I'll throw up some pictures here for you forsure, including one of the boy. On our way down we met some boys at a small well where they offered water. From here the women carry water in about 20L buckets on their heads through the mountains to their homes. These women are incredible, i could NEVER do that!

I can definitely feel that things are busier at the orphanage this week already, as expected! With 'Me' Madanke (the lady living in the baby room) being gone for a week, and 'Me' Ma Ktlokleso (the young women also helping in the baby room) helping in the kitchen, it feels a little busy in the baby room. I will add that a few of the babies still are not feeling well - vomitting and diareah, which of course busies things up a little more! Poor little Petrie still has scabies and often just cries and cries because her legs are so itchy. I finally figured out a way to sooth her today, it was pretty cute. She was supposed to be having a nap and kept crying because of the itch. I just started to massage and rub her legs up and down, and she was instantly quiet and in 3 minutes time she was asleep:) Great to discover these simple medicines! We still don't have a cook - continue to keep that in your prayers. And also this past weekend, the lady staying with the junior girls quit. So we are kind of short staffed right now. Please pray for the staffing issue!

And thats my story for now!

Back to Work!

Well we just got back sunday night from a small trip with the girls to the east coast and have been quite busy since. The trip was good, it was nice to just take some time to relax and enjoy each other. This week is going by really fast so far as things have been busy. I am still working on sorting through donations and cleaning up the storage room. It is very time consuming, but it needs to be done. I seem to be doing less and less in the preschool now as more things are coming up, but I still try to spend time in the afternoon each day playing with the kids. It's pretty cute, I come walking in and they all start chanting my name in excitement, makes me feel pretty special:) I love these kids, they are all so precious! I have been working more in the baby room lately as well. We are trying to give the basotho ladies some time off during the day while we are there, so they can rest. They live there and take care of the babies 24/7 and its important that they rest emotionally and physically. It's great, they now come in singing in the morning they are so much happier!

A couple of the babies haven't been feeling too well lately and are eating less and vomitting. One of the younger babies cries alot right now because she has scabies, so it itches and bothers her. Its so sad, because there is not much we can do for her. We can't put the cream on because her sores are open, so we are now getting an antibiotic to give to her 3 times daily. Hopefully she will get better and that the scabies won't spread too much. These babies are full of sores and stink because they poo everywhere (and its nasty), and sometimes for a split second i start to think "what am i doing here?" .. then i see them smile and laugh and everything else just disappears. All that I can see is a beautiful baby just longing for TLC like any other child. Each of these children are unique and precious in the eyes of God and I have to remember to continually look at these kids through Jesus' eyes and let him be my hands and my heart. When I come in the room in the morning and little Roma smiles at me with that big grin of his, my heart can't help but melt..

A few prayer requests for you:
+ baby boitumelo (petrie)- her scabies and other infections
+ the health of the couple sick babies
+ pray for a cook, as the full-time cook quit
+ pray our health - I got ringworm last week and I am treating it, it is slowly starting to go away. It's so easy to catch things like this working at the orphanage, so if you can pray for continual health for the staff.
+ continue to pray for adoptions to open in Lesotho

Thanks for your prayers and support. God bless.
With Love, Michelle

Baby Bokang

Hello all. I just wanted to leave a little post to fill you in on the most recent news we got today.. The newest baby(Bokang)that was about 3 weeks old died this weekend. He is the little baby I am holding in my most recent blog. There were some issues with the mother and she was staying at the orphanage taking care of him (well when she was around). He had some pretty bad thresh in his mouth and had a hard time eating. We were given a cream from the clinic to help. You usually had to help him out when he was eating - or he would not eat. He died from dehrydration because he did not drink enough milk. Turns out the mother did not feed him during the night and if he did not want his bottle, she would not keep trying. I don't think the mother was in a clear mental state either and didn't know how to be a mother. It's sad and I wish I could have done something about it, but we didn't know it was that bad.. we thought he had been eating. It's hard to even know what to say. These people are used to death like this, it almost seems as it is a normal occurence. I don't think the baby's death even affected the mother much, we really think something is wrong with her. I guess only God knows. Anyways, if you can, maybe pray for this young lady. She is still living at the orphanage. Also pray for the other children and their health as well.

Another Post

Hello again to everyone back home. Wow, its starting to feel like the time is going by much quicker now that we are into a routine. We had rainy/cooler weather for a few days, but as of yesterday we are back to the hot 30's!

Yesterday was a fun and interesting day. I've been doing a lot of sorting through clothing donations this past week, and yesterday Annie and I had a little bit of fun with some of the "odd, not so good-looking" clothes! We couldn't resist but to but them on:) I'll put a few pics up for you. Walking home we met a few high school girls that we ended up walking quite a ways with. They spoke english really well and it was enjoyable chatting with them. We might get together with them sometime, I think it's good to get involved with some of the community here.

Another short story for the day - while we were walking downtown through the crowded streets to the taxi stop, some guy approached me and was trying to sell me this wierd sheet/blanket. He was holding it out in his hands and following me around persisting that I buy it. I kept telling him I didn't need it and he wouldnt leave me alone. At one point when he was talking to me trying to sell this thing, he slyly slipped his fingers into my pocket (he was holding the sheet near my waist and his hands were underneath so I couldn't see) to try and steal money. As soon as I felt it, I moved and looked right at him and said "DON'T!" He completely backed off as if he was never talking to me in the first place. In Lesotho, being a theif is probably the worst thing you can be.. unless you don't get caught. So as soon as he realized I knew what he was doing, he acted as if he never talked to me. Interesting hey? I think it's funny because alot of these guys don't expect young white women to confront them like that. I don't know, I guess it just doesn't scare me at all - maybe its just God walking beside me:)

We had the Peters family over for supper last night which was enjoyable, except for the fact that I got sick half way through the evening. I think I caught a small flu bug. But I feel better today already - still not 100%, but better! At least it was just a short little bug.

We got to relax in the sun at the pool this afternoon with friends so that was nice after a busy week at the orphanage. Anyways, until next time!

P.S. Here are a couple prayer items:
-pray that adoptions in Lesotho will open again, there are people waiting to adopt and it seems as though the numbers in orphanages are growing
-pray for our health as we are daily surrounded by minor diseases/bugs
-pray for one of the babies Boitumelo (Petrie). Her mother was raped and hated the baby, and thats why she is at MIS. Mavis is bringing the mother to the orphanage so she can see her little girl and hopefully connect with her and learn to love her. This would be a tremendous blessing as this little girl deserves to be with her mother.
-pray for continuing strength for both Annie and I as we are far from home & family.

MIS days

Well we are going on 3 weeks now - time is actually starting to go by pretty fast! We got some good relaxing in this past weekend with Wilma & Sylvia as well as with the Peters family.

This week so far I have been in the preschool in the mornings and in the afternoons I am sorting through a bunch of clothing donations in the storage room (the old pig room). Its interesting going through everything. There are boxes and bags and whatnot - the stuff will go from being brand new to being completely ratty and torn which is useless, in this case it goes to the dump. Some of it is dirty and stained as well and im sure hasnt been washed so it gets a little smelly sometimes and can get to the head after a while. It will be nice once I can get everything done and sorted so that it doesnt get moldy sitting there for months. That room really needs a good cleaning as well which I will hopefully get to eventually. It's funny, because as soon as some of the Junior kids are out of school they come running to the door and watch me take out every article of clothing and babble like crazy in Sesotho. Its so funny. They always say things like "abuti" (boy) or "aosie" (girl) or "ME!" when they want it. Oh but its all good fun.

Although I have only been here for a short while, I can definitely feel God stretching me in a few different areas. For example, I'm one who gets grossed out pretty easily by smells, ect. The orphanage doesn't exactly smell like heaven and the baby room can get pretty nasty sometimes. I don't have big problems with loving the kids anyways, but in all honesty - there are times when they are full of open sores filled with flies, food all over, poop and pee pretty much anywhere possible.. these times sometimes involve quite a big push from God. I really do love these kids so much, don't get me wrong - but i just want to be completely honest with you and tell you that it is not always easy.

I think God is also pushing me to put the rest of my heart into this, I don't think its completely here yet.. I am so scared that I will get attached again like last time and it will hurt so much to leave, that I tend to hold back at times to keep from feeling the full attachment. This is something i need to change.. this should never keep me from giving these children/babies my whole heart - all of my love.

So I guess i just gave you a little of my heart today, so if you think of me please pray for me that i can continue to look past some of these issues and fully love these kids with everything that I can give. That is why I am here.

2nd week in Africa

It's thursday night here now and and another week is almost done. We've been pretty well into a steadier routine now and I've been feeling much more settled in this week. Getting up at 5:45am, at MIS orphanage by 7:30am, and gone by 3:30pm. Annie works in the baby room all day helping the ladies who work there. I help for the first hour or so with getting the babies/preschoolers ready to go for the day. The preschoolers sleep in the same room as the babies.. hopefully they can find away to change that up in the future so these kids don't have to sleep on the floor. It would always make it much more convenient to have the babies/preschoolers seperate. Anyways I help out in the preschool all day for now which I have settled more into alot now.

To be honest, I was a little discouraged at first when things didn't go as planned and I was working in the preschool again. I am not really supposed to teach as thats what the others are being paid for, I am just supposed to help out. I was almost feeling as though i wasn't really making a difference because I wasn't doing a lot (or in my terms i didnt think i was). Anyways, I was actually pretty down about and questioned often throughout the days "God why am I here if I am not making a difference?" A few days ago, I think God gave me a slight tap on the shoulder through a new friend who also works at the orphanage. She just made me see that sometimes what you do doesn't have to be big.. she reminded me that I am building relationships with these children, and that is a very important thing. It was a good little uplift and reminder. I am feeling much happier now that I am reminded that what I do for the Lord doesn't have to be "saving the world", it is as simple as making a difference in one child's life by just being a friend. I know that God wouldn't just send me here for nothing, he has purpose behind everything. As long as I allow Him, He will use me:)

I really do appreciate all your prayers, I can feel the support behind me! I'll update you again soon, Lots of Love!

Transitioning into things..

Hey to all! Well I finally have a decent amount of time now to sit down and fill you in on whats been happening in my first week back in Lesotho. We arrived safetly to Maseru last friday, the 25th of January and I have to say I'm about done with flying for a while! I got really sick of being cramped in a small plane seat for 8-10 hours at a time not being able to get a decent sleep. We did have a short layover in London though where we were able to get out for a while and see a few sights of London which was really nice! We spent the first couple days here at Wilma and Sylvia's to settle in to the culture a bit first and spend some time with them. Also went to Melvin and Kari's for supper on saturday night which i quite enjoyed:) Last sunday after church we spend a full day at the Maseru Pool with Wilma and Sylvia and a few of their friends. It was fun - but even though we layered on sunscreen, Annie and I both got a pretty nasty burn. The sun is so intense here at this time of the year! We've spend pretty much this whole week at the orphanage already from about 7:30 - 3:00ish. We have to get up at 5:30am though because we have to walk part of the way and also catch a taxi further into town. Taxi rides are pretty interesting though.. they cram at least 20-25 people in a taxi van and it gets extremely hot and stuffy inside! Oh well, its only 3 rand a trip - being $0.40-0.50. Not bad hey? Seeing the orphanage again after two years was interesting and it was exciting to see all of the changes that had taken place in that time being. The preschool is beautiful now, it makes me happy that they have gotten their own space where the younger children can learn and are not just roaming around wherever. Although I have seen some good changes, i can definitely see there is much more that can still be improved. Previously discussed before i arrived I was supposed to be working in the office with wilma, but now things tend to be somewhat unorganized so I am working in the preschool for now helping out with the children. I'm pretty much a "do whatever" person when they need someone for this or that. Things are likely to change though as changes take place within the Centre. I can't believe there is all of 100 children there already! My jetleg is starting to wear off now and I am feeling better than I did when I first arrived. I was feeling completely drained and weak, it was wierd. Although i have only been here a little over a week, I am already missing home, family and friends. It's more difficult being countries away when you cant just jump in your car and go see people when you want to. So as of right now I am still tansitioning into everything and our new routine. Within time I know things will get better and I will be more comfortable where I am. But I know I have the Lord by my side and He keeps me going - with Him I can accomplish anything! Thanks so much for all your prayers, they are a blessing to me!