Like each day here, we started the day off with a devotional by one of the church leaders. It's a great way to get our minds right before starting the day.
After getting supplies, we headed out to Debe Nek about 1.5 hours away to visit a school for renovations and Holiday Club with the children. It's quite different out in the country. The kids came running up to our cars as we drove in. It's inspiring to see the kids' faces light up and be so excited just to have visitors who want to spend time with them. Jeremy and I worked on painting the roof of the school while the others played games outside with the kids, among other activities. It was such an amazing feeling to be standing on the roof of this old school building...working hard, sun shining on us, a cool breeze, mountains in the distance, kids playing, and so much green around. I thought this is what mission work is. Doing things to help God's kingdom grow is such a great feeling.
It was a rush to step out of the car and feel so much love by kids who have never seen you before. At this school, kids ranged from K-7th grade and all shared about 3-4 classrooms. After a day of spending some time with them, it was really hard to leave because we became so close to them and they became close to us. To think we were complete strangers and yet they still poured out their hearts to us and were so welcoming was very humbling. It was amazing to feel so connected to them as we played games. I would just sit and they would come and just want to be close to me and hug me and want to show me affection. It's hard to believe that if we don't visit these kids, it's very probable that no one will. As we drove off, it was very difficult to look back and see the sad faces waving goodbye.
After Debe Nek, we went to Fort White which was a seminary for black ministers during Apartheid. There is so much opportunity in this space to grow surrounding communities and the Christian faith. It was very touching to experience this space and know the good work that was done here before and the potential it has for future missions.
Anna & Adam
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