We have been on a school break for the past couple of weeks and have another week to go. The pool isn’t open yet, but it should be by Monday. We are heading into spring, and the crazy temperatures are here. On Wednesday it was 60F/15C in the morning and 102F/39C by mid-afternoon. It’s crazy. We haven’t had rain in so long that I can’t remember when it last rained. The early September rains have threatened to come this week, but alas, only a few drops have fallen from the sky. That means we all live with stifling air filled with dry dust and smoke that comes from fires all around us. It’s particularly hard on our asthmatic kids and staff, of which there are many.
While the days are scheduled for the kids, there is lots of free time and free play. I have an office that is “kid friendly” and they are free to come and go to work on puzzles, listen to Christian hip-hop (their request), do word search, sudoku or just hang out. Outside my window I get to watch gymnastics classes and team building fun. (photo outside my office)
There are many days that are overwhelming, but I am quickly grounded by seeing each and every child who the Lord has saved from horrific situations through miraculous intervention. This week we got the news that one of our babies is deaf (almost completely, but has some hearing) and one little one who has lost the hearing in one ear due to many untreated ear infections before she came to us. We also have a toddler with hyperthyroidism, which is very unusual in a small child. Every day has its own challenges and every day has its own reasons to celebrate.
Yesterday we had our annual Project Canaan’s Got Talent competition. Our children are incredibly talented, incredibly competitive and work hard to win. We continue to work on losing as well as we win, which isn’t easy anywhere. The winners of yesterday’s competition were led by Emmanuel and Ben and their act was simply incredible. I wish everyone reading this could be here to watch these kids choreograph their own songs (with staff assistance).
We have seven teenagers and are beginning to have fun/intense/hard conversations that I wish I had had with my parents. Frankly, I wish we had had them with Spencer and Chloe. We had a clinical psychologist come to speak with the grades 5-7 kids about puberty before school went on break. Most of the things she shared were not being heard for the first time, but a “new voice”, one with authority and more knowledge, was very helpful. Hannah Gaddis from our US office was here for a couple of months and she introduced the Inside Out 2 movie. It is one that everyone should watch, and we might have it on replay for the next few weeks.
As we continue to learn about each other’s cultures, we also learned that there are not as many words to describe emotion in the Swazi language as there are in English. To simplify it, Swazis might use “angry, mad, happy, sad”, but may not have a word for “envy, anxious, frustrated, depressed”. It is really wonderful to see how words can open up conversation, and conversation can restore joy and bring healing.
We are behind currently on funding for child sponsorship. Would you consider sponsoring a child today so that we can continue to provide all of the essentials and some extras that will allow them to grow up to be responsible, contributing members of society? Please feel free to share this blog with friends and family and invite them to be a part of something bigger than themselves…hope for the future of an African child, and a nation.
Thank you reading, and taking action today.
Janine