A great trip

Our trip has officially come to a close. 7 of the 19 team members returned to New York on Sunday. The remaining team members are extending their trip to various locations in South Africa, Ethiopia & London. Continue to pray for their safety and a safe return to New York later this week.



We rounded out the week in East London with a closing day of Holiday Club. With a few tears and many smiles, we said goodbye to a group of kids that in such a short time hold each of our hearts. Bearing more than any person, much less a small child, should have to, the kids showed us a relentless joy and love that we each should strive to express every day.



After Holiday Club, we finished our work with Little Sparklers, and cleaned up the classrooms for their return to school in 1 week. We were happy to purchase some additional toys to replace the items that were ruined by the flood earlier in the week. The team put all they had into getting the classroom cleaned and fully ready for the kids return.



This trip was a great example of being ready to serve in any capacity needed. Despite flight delays, crazy weather and a changing schedule, the team made a great impact on the people and children in East London. The staff on the ground commented that our team was one of the most cohesive teams he's ever seen, and this true team approach led to us accomplishing more than we every expected. We can't wait until our next team goes to East London in November to serve!

Recap of Wednesday and Thursday

We have had 2 more wonderful days of holiday club. On Wednesday the children learned that "God Smiles When I Show Patience and Self-Control" and today we added the fruits of goodness and kindness. Each time the kids transition from activity to activity the halls are filled with the sounds of children chanting the fruits of the spirit they are learning and demonstrating their understanding of them throughout the day. The kids are a joy to work with and we are getting sad to see it end tomorrow. We have become very attached to the children as we have gotten to know them better. Members of our team are already discussing return trips here and other mission work. God has really been working in our hearts as much as, if not more, than what we are hoping to instill in the kids.

Wednesday afternoon half the group worked at Little Sparklers hoping to not only do the planned renovations but also rectify the additional damage caused by Tuesday's storm. The other half of the group visited Dunkin Village, a township where many of the students are bused in from. It was devastating and powerful to see the reality of the conditions in which these amazing children have to endure life. The groups will switch tomorrow.

Today, Thursday, we got our first glimpse of sun and it re-energized all of us. We thought the country was beautiful even in the storms but now we are just truly grateful to see even more beauty with the sun shining. This afternoon, the entire group took our own holiday to the Inkwenkwezi Game Reserve. We were in awe of God's beautiful creations and his clever and perfect design. We had the opportunity to see giraffe, ostrich, zebra, wildabeest, impala, lions, and we each even pet a cheetah which is currently at the reserve but not yet released.




The wonderful day continued when we returned to the church for a traditional South African braai (BBQ) with many of the people who have been hosting us at First City Baptist all week.

Tomorrow will be our last day with the kids and we already have our tissues ready. Thank you to everyone following our journey and continuing to pray for us.

Love,
Stephanie & Stephanie

Rainy Tuesday - Day 2

This morning we woke up to heavy rain and wind. We arrived to First City Baptist on time but due to complications with transportation, Holiday Club started a little later and unfortunately with less children. Despite the slow start today proved again to be a day full of love and energy.



Our theme for Holiday Club is "God Smile's When I..." and today the phrase was completed with God Smiles When I Show Peace and Gentleness. To illustrate this we told the story, "Jesus Calms the Storm." The children enjoyed a day full of learning, singing, creating picture frames, and expending energy in recreation.




In the afternoon we continued with our group renovation projects. As a result of the rain the school building flooded. One of the renovation groups was in charge of attempting to clean out all of the ruined toys and carpets. Please pray that we are able to restore the building and replace the many toys, stuffed animals, books and carpets that were ruined before school returns in a week and a half.



We all are enjoying this trip more than we could express in words. God is truly moving in each of our hearts. The children we are coming in contact with have needs that stretch far beyond imagination. They have already experienced more things in their 3-9 years of life than we could contemplate. In two short days, we have fallen in love with these children.

Please keep our team and these kids in your thoughts and prayers! We love you all!
Love,
Erika and Katie

We've Finally Arrived!

After many hours of traveling, the team has finally arrived in East London, South Africa safely!

The day was spent at First City Baptist Church where we kicked off Holiday Camp. We were greeted with warm smiles and excitement from the very beginning and as the day went on the relationships and connections between students and staff only grew stronger. It was amazing to see how quickly the kids welcomed us and even though it was our intention to open our arms to them, the kids managed to show us love on a whole new level by opening their arms even wider to us.


The second half of the day we split up to help in different areas around the facilities. Some of us undertook construction and renovation projects while others visited Breath of Life, a safe house for abandoned and vulnerable babies.

Over all it was a good day and an eye opening experience, and we are so exited to see what what the rest of the week has in store.

Gigi & Kelsea

Almost there!

48 hours into the trip, and we're almost there! We spent the night last night in the airport next to Jo'burg, City Lodge. We were blessed to have 10 rooms comped by British Airways, so the team is now rested, refreshed and ready to serve! Our flight is at 7pm (1pm EST), so we'll be in East London tonight, and kick off our day bright and early tomorrow.

Although plans have not gone as expected, we're all grateful for the experience and are excited for what's ahead!

Delayed

The team is on their way to East London, but we've hit a "mechanical delay" in London, so we are delayed 11 hours in the airport (yep...we're sleeping in the airport). We'll be in East London on Sunday morning, and ready to kick off a great week of service! We'll post more when we land in South Africa.