The following is a collection of happenings from days gone by that I felt compelled to record for memory’s sake. Thought I might as well share them with you. Happy reading :)
The scene: I’m standing by the outside sink as the kids file through their toilet routine then wait for their turn to wash their hands. One precious Grade R boy is so hopeful the I understand Setswana that he is constantly rattling off sentence after sentence, leaving me with nothing to do but smile and nod and hope I’m not agreeing to something undesirable. His clever classmate—let’s call him Ben—joins the line and quickly identifies my cluelessness. Eager to be of assistance, he strains his ears to translate for me, but his friend’s speech impediment has Ben visibly frustrated. After a moment he shakes his head and says, “I’m sorry Ma’am Taylor. I can’t understand him—he doesn’t speak so good.” It might enhance your visualization of the scenario to know that Ben is quite sure that he is a cartoon super hero. He doesn’t walk anywhere—he dashes. When he has an idea you can almost see the light bulb above his head flash on as he swings his index finger upward and exclaims, “Aha!” And that is exactly what he did in the midst of his translation debacle, followed by this astoundingly perceptive yet matter-of-fact statement: “I know! My friend doesn’t speak good, but God can fix his voice!” Brilliant. I told him that he was absolutely right and applauded his idea, to which he responded, “It just came from my brain.” He bubbled up and rinsed his hands at lightning speed then darted back to class, and I just stood there smiling, dumbfounded by God’s lesson for me that day out of the mouth of a babe: trust Me even in the simple things.
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It has been dipping into the 20s overnight of late. And when it’s 28 outside, it’s 28 in on the other side of the covers when it’s time to get out of bed. There’s something about being able to see your breath when you stir from slumber, that makes you want to hibernate all day. But that would be a pity, because the sun is faithfully peeking over the horizon ready to kiss your goose-bumpity skin, and caress warmth into your soul. No matter how hard you wish it, a duvet cannot do those things.
Last week, Potch hit a record low: -9 degrees Celsius! I’m exceedingly grateful that it’s school holiday and I was able to sleep in a couple hours, otherwise we would have been on our way to morning devotions at the hour that temperature descended. Silly me was worried about living in Africa because of the heat.
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I’m still amazed by our staff. They work so hard and love so well. They are constantly pouring their hearts into the lives of each other and their little pupils. As winter break drew near, they were excited for some time off to relax. But God intended this time for recharging and restoring as well. The first week of break we hosted a team from the States. Their mission: to facilitate a spiritual, emotional and physical oasis for our ladies. The staff knew a team was coming to minister specifically to them, but what we might call a retreat, was a foreign concept. Two of the team members ushered us through Bible study each day with games and gifts and personal stories of God’s goodness along the way. The rest of the team corralled and entertained the staff’s children through a VBS program. One day, to correspond with the principle that, as teachers, they are the hands of Jesus to the children, we did manicures. When the ladies saw the scented lotions and colorful polishes they giggled with more glee than school girls. As a finale we all enjoyed a special lunch together. It was a delicious and abundant feast for our stomachs, which aptly commemorated the gracious and all-satisfying nourishment that God had provided for our souls. Each lady shared how God had spoken to her heart. The common denominator was that we all came away encouraged and blessed and refueled, which is exactly how God intends for us to feel when we meditate on His Word and fellowship in His presence.
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The final week of holiday is already upon us. The teachers will be working a few days this week to get their classrooms in order and prepare for the return of 84 kidlets. (Yes, we keep growing.) A few of us will also be traveling to Johannesburg for a 3-day Awana conference. We hope to kick off that program in the next month or so! You can be praying for these things as well as the continued preparations of the school expansion, which are full-fledged with only 5 months until next school year. Pray specifically for timely construction (an oxymoron—especially in Africa), wisdom in hiring new staff, effective training in the new curriculum, and enrollment of the students that God would have us care for.
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I can hardly believe it, but this time next week I will be HOME! What was planned as a quick trip to attend the weddings of a couple dear friends has been stretched to include a vacation with my family to the lake, presentations to a couple of our supporting churches, and the arrival of a niece. Naturally, I will be eating as much Mexican food and coffee ice cream as possible, as well as hiking the beautiful Colorado mountains (to offset the aforementioned) and playing with puppies. I am SO excited for all of these things, and hope to spend time with many of you in between, or even better, during :)
