My heart is already longing for my return back to this place. I’ve spent the last couple of months on Project Canaan. I could write for the next few hours about so many different things but as I have been praying about what to share I want to take a moment to tell you about some of my highlights from my time here these last two months:

• God has been so near to me here at Project Canaan. My prayer is that He will continue to be near and I will continue to make time for Him. 
• The kids here, as you know if you have met them, are just remarkable. A group of the younger kids sang one of my favorite songs, I AM (Miracle) by Anthony Brown. I have heard and seen this song performed by our kids so many times, but it hit me a little different this time. The chorus says “I’m a living, breathing, walking, talking, moving miracle” and I was overcome with emotion as I watched our kids in Grade 3 sing this song. The truth is, every day here when you look around, all you see are 400+ living, breathing, walking, talking, moving miracles. Each child comes from a hard background, and some are so hard we can’t even share, but they are all truly miracles. I see the faithfulness and the grace of God when I look at each one of them. 
• I got to watch Inside Out 2 with our grades 5-7. If you haven’t seen the movie, you should go see it ASAP, adults and kids. The movie follows a character as she goes through puberty and the movie introduces 4 new emotions, embarrassment, anxiety, boredom, and envy. It was interesting to watch little light bulbs go off in their minds as they were watching this movie. As they are getting older and their bodies are changing we know they have questions about some of the things they are thinking and feeling. We debriefed the movie afterwards and there were some laughs and some great questions. I reminded them at the end that our feelings are never meant to be ignored or in charge and then we unpacked healthy ways to talk about our big feelings. 
• Some of my favorite moments took place when I had time to walk around the children’s campus and just see the kids playing, laughing, cleaning, eating, dancing, practicing a sport, or just being kids. That is the thing here that blows me away, these kids get to be kids. No screens or social media to distract them. The freedom of being outdoors and playing with each other. It is in these moments where I found myself encountering the sweetest moments. Maybe it is a child yelling, “Auntie Hannah, come,” or maybe a child running to hold my hand while walking to the next place, or maybe a child running up and giving me a hug and saying, “Auntie Hannah, I love you.” These are the moments that have left a deep impression on my heart and honestly some of the most healing moments I have ever experienced. There is so much power in a hug, a hand hold, and even in the words “I love you.”
• One of the things I tried to do a few days each week while I was here was go to Janine’s office at O2, which is a multi-purpose space used for eating, church service, movie nights, talent shows, playing games, etc. Janine will go in her office a few days a week after school and the kids will come in and hang out. So, I was doing the same. This is where those rich conversations happen that you aren’t expecting, the questions that come that you weren’t ready for, the debriefing of their day or something that happened recently. Quality time is a love language of mine and my heart is always so full after this time with the older kids. I am drawn to them because I have known them for the last 9 years since I started coming here. Even on the days I didn’t want to go because I had had a long day already, I went and was reminded of just how impactful and important time with each other is. I wish I could tell them through words the impact they have made on my life. 
• Over the last few weeks I have had the opportunity to go out on the weekends to grocery shop, see a movie, meet a new friend for lunch, and just allow myself to get more comfortable driving and being here. As I drove through the surrounding areas I saw the poverty all around me. If I am being honest, it makes me mad. I have to give those thoughts and feelings to Jesus though because I cannot change or fix anything here. However, when I arrive back at Project Canaan and drive through the front gate I am reminded of the ways this place is improving and enriching so many lives, not just for our kids but we have over 450 employees who have a job somewhere on the farm and are able to care for their families because of their employment. 

Lastly, I want to tell you about an experience I had with one of our oldest kids, Ben. When our kids celebrate their birthdays, they receive a gift. They are all great gifts but I think the 13th birthday gift is my favorite. The kids receive 200 emalangani (currency here) and they get to go to town and shop for anything they want. As a bonus, they get to bring a friend. On the morning before we left, Ben came to me and asked if I had any shopping bags he could borrow to take with us. I asked why? He said, “So I don’t have to spend my money buying one,” because plastic bags cost money here. I was instantly impressed. We loaded up in the car and he made sure I had the bags and we headed off to town. He had a notebook with him so I asked what it was for and he told me it was his shopping list so I asked if I could see it. 

He began to tell me that he worked hard to make a list of things he needed and things he wanted. He also wanted to save some money to have at home. This kid is 13! He has already learned the value of money, what a need and a want are, and how to save. I was BLOWN away at this. So as we shopped at several stores he was writing down the cost of things and always knew exactly how much money he would have remaining after the purchase. He bought the cheapest items and even found some flip flops on sale. They weren’t necessarily the ones he wanted but he got them because they were cheaper. It was a fun time and we loaded up to head back. I asked him, “So what are you going to do with all this food?” He said, “Oh, it’s for my party on Tuesday.” His actual birthday was on the following Tuesday and he was throwing himself a party with food, drinks, and games. He had a game planned and the winner of the game would get to choose one of the items to eat. I don’t think I was prepared for this experience. First of all, I learned a few things from him about needs vs wants. Second, he was so thoughtful in his plan and he wasn’t only focused on himself. He spent most of his money buying food that could be shared with the other boys who live in his house. 

As we were driving home and I was reflecting on this experience, I was a bit taken back at the emotions that began to come over me. The children here are being raised differently than other children and they are being raised to be kind, smart, respectful, thoughtful, and so much more. Of course they are kids and have their weak moments as well, but WOW! I have known that Project Canaan is important but after this experience I could see a glimpse into the future. For a small moment, I could see Ben as an adult owning his own bakery or being a police officer, both things he wants to be when he grows up. Then I multiplied him by 424 and saw so many wonderful adults who are going to be different and who, in my opinion, are going to change the world. They have already changed mine. 

My pastor has said many times before, “Your greatest contribution to the kingdom of God may not be something you do but someone you raise.” I have heard him say this but I don’t have kids of my own so I just kind of wrote it off. Now when I look around at all the kids that God has brought to Project Canaan and the village of people that are raising them I can’t help but think about the impact that these kids are going to have on this country. Tears are streaming down my face as I type these very words. Now back to the village of people who are contributing to helping us raise these kids. If you have ever visited here, made a donation to Heart for Africa, donated clothes, shoes, or soccer cleats, you are now considered a part of the village. Thank you for your generosity. Would you help us by continuing to share the story of Project Canaan and Heart for Africa?

As I wrap up I want to be bold and ask each one of you that are reading this blog to say YEBO (that’s YES in siSwati). Would you say YEBO to sponsoring a child if you do not already do so? We are behind on child sponsorship funding and we need to be able to continue saying YEBO to the children that still need a home. At this point in the year we are over $35,000 US dollars behind where we need to be in our child sponsorship funding. Would you please prayerfully consider sponsoring a child at any amount? It will be your best YEBO and it will help us continue to be able to welcome new little ones home to Project Canaan. We actually got a call last week about a baby that will need a place to go once she is healthy enough to leave the hospital. She was found in a pit latrine (which is a toilet in the ground) and she is expected to be about a month old. That is just one story about a child that we have the opportunity to save. Please reach out and let me know if you have any questions or you can sign up at the links below. 

Hannah Gaddis, Relationship Manager, Heart for Africa