Service Site Update

Hello friends and family. I apologize for the extended period of time without an update! Life is still great. Service at the children’s home is fun as always. Simpiwe recognizes me I am pretty certain. When I arrive he crawls over to me so we can get started on his standing and walking skills. Nizole, a baby who’s probably six months old, was adopted. It was so heartwarming to see the family interacting with him and loving him. I know he is going to have a really great life with two loving parents and an older brother. The adoption also gave me hope for all the other little munchkins. I had a difficult day of service last Tuesday when I was moved up to the older age group for the day. These kids are four and five years old and come from the same situations; abusive, overcrowded, or unhealthy homes where they may have been abused. When I am working with the babies I sometimes forget their background, but with these bigger kids it is hard to forget. They were out of control. I think ninety percent of them had behavioral problems. They were kicking and fighting with each other. They refuse to share. I did not feel like I could play with them because I was constantly breaking up fights. There are twenty five of these kids and they all spend most of their days together. It is truly every kid for themselves. I felt totally hopeless at the end of the day. The future for those children is not bright. At this point it is going to be very hard for them to get adopted, because families just prefer younger children that they can bring up from a young age. So these older kids are going to spend the next few years of their life in homes where all they have to interact with is each other. It is a very sad situation that is not unique to South Africa. Needless to say I am very happy that I work with the babies on a regular basis. It was good to see the other part of the organization, but I was exhausted in every sense by the end of the day.