Monday, April 25, 2011

Monday, April 11

To Our Loved Ones in the States and elsewhere,

Greetings from beautiful South Africa! I can’t tell you how thrilling it was to arrive 2 nights ago, look up at the African sky and see thousands upon thousands of stars and the Southern Cross in the sky. Once again, you realize just how small your own little world is and what a wondrous Creator we serve.

Today we spent the entire day sorting medications, that is, taking bottles and bottles of ibuprofen and acetaminophen, etc., opening them up, counting out a hundred pills on a pill counter and placing it in plastic baggies with homemade labels. The work still goes on right now as I write this and it will go on late into the night and all day tomorrow. This is in preparation for the upcoming clinics. By dinner time our team was tired and a little grouchy. Then right before we began our nightly meeting and devotional time we got a call from the States about someone very close to one of our team member’s needing very urgent prayer. It brought us back to focusing on why we’re here and after much prayer and worshipping God we returned with a second wind to the tedious task of once again sorting medication. From the room next door I can hear our team working in unison with glad hearts. Thank you all for your prayers. Honestly, you are as much a part of this mission as any of us. I really feel the Lord has hand picked this team and I am personally anxious in beginning the clinics. How will I be able to face hundreds of patients in need looking at me to help them? Those that have done this trip before remind me over and over that always keep in mind, the Lord will only send you people you are supposed to see and will guide you with the skills he has given you. And to watch what we do and ask questions. Please continue to pray for the clinics beginning in 2 days and for the patients that will come from near and far. Pray that our hands and medications can heal to the glory of God. It is such an honor to be here.

Much love, Bruce

Hey it’s Heather here. All I can say is wow! Our time thus far has been so amazing. The first day we were here we attended the churches of our hosts and the sunshine, fresh air and sounds of beautiful Zulu worship wafted through the open building and it was a refreshing feeling of being alive. As Bruce said earlier it really reminds us how amazing and diverse is this world that God created and how much there is to explore! I have the privilege of experiencing this through the eyes of our children as well. The kids are doing amazing. They handled the flight well and adjusted to the time change like troopers. I’m not going to lie, being outdoors from morning till evening today running around and being covered head to toe in dirt helped a little J. They are having the time of their lives. After our long flight and groggy arrival the following morning Abigail woke up with a sparkle in her eyes and said “Mommy we’re in South Africa!”.

One quick memory that I will hold is at the morning church service the children were playing musical chairs. Abigail (3) jumped in with a slight hesitation but I was proud of her for joining in. As the children walked around the chairs and the music stopped it seemed as though the children had a similar goal. Make sure that Abigail got a chair. Each time and as the chairs were being taken away it got a little more intense and the children would quickly grab her arms and plop her into a chair while squealing with glee. This got a little too intense for her and she opted out and clung to my side for the remainder of the game, but it really touched me to see them going out of their way to make her feel included. I can’t believe it’s only been 2 days here and although there is a lot of hard work ahead of us I cannot wait to see what our time here holds.


Much love and blessings to family and friends at home, Heather

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