January 08, 2008 Lesotho

I am overwhelmed.

How God works. God you are SO BIG!!! You never change. Thank You for this security we have.
I will try to bring as much of it as possible to you when I get home and type the cliff notes to the best of my ability right now until my head falls on the desk…

Children. That is what I experienced today. Amazing little faces. Soft tiny brown fingers, wrapped around mine. Don’t think I didn’t consider how I could bring several home with me. The smell still stays with me.
Aunt Nancy and I visited MIS this afternoon and spent about 2 hours playing with these orphans and walking around the, well it is more of a habitat than a facility as we know it. Wow, there are so many of you who could do so much here!!! I am so excited to show you. From what Nancy said, it had been through a dramatic change in even the past month with toilets, new cement laid, and a renovation to the girls area so they now have bunk beds to sleep in instead of the floor.

The cool thing is that there is a well respected builder who has volunteered to come and show the older boys how to lay concrete, so that not only do they have this project to take more ownership and pride of their home, BUT ALSO they learn a skill that they can develop for when they are older and out of school. They have obvious physical needs for the site as well as many other kinds including attention both medically and emotionally. The three year olds and younger were the ones that we first came upon. I will attach a few pictures. They seemed to be taken with MY TOY… the camera. It was so funny. Y’all, imagine small children, malnourished with messy noses running up to you and laughing at the sound of a black box held up to my face… THEN letting them see THEIR faces. It was
Oh, my.
Hilariously cute and yet moving and aching at the same time.
I caught in one picture a shot of one of the kids trying on a bigger pair of shoes that would fit him better with the help of a guy that is volunteering there… he came just for a visit in February with his counterpart and they have only returned once home since February. I can understand why.
Mavis Mochochoko, the woman who runs the place, has an amazing story. I can’t wait to share it. Similar to Paul on the road to Damascus. She is a pastor now, and unfortunately I will miss her preaching. I leave Lesotho on Friday and that will be the last time to be with family. The group Jewels of Hope that I will have the opportunity to experience will pick me up then and take me to Ladybrand which is a city just on the other side of the border, into South Africa. We will share the rest of the time I have here and will be taken then to the airport at the end of next week.
So much to tell… I’ve only been here 3 days. Pray for these children. Pray that their faith grows strong so that they will have Hope. Hope will create resilience to live.
~ JA

Oh, yeah, we did other things today too. I took a hot shower!!! I played with my cousins, of whom I am addicted. And we visited the bakery and hardware store in town. That was interesting. Tomorrow I will be horse trekking… aka horse back riding.

Laurie, the skirts are wonderfully lightweight and full of color. I could not have asked for a better gift for Christmas.

Thank you