So we have finished three of four days at the Ministry of Insured Salvation Orphanage. I will have to say that we have all not been terribly impressed with the conditions there; the grounds are littered with sharp refuse, the kids are malnourished, and we question the heart of the proprietor. As well, the kids have just been through a scabies outbreak, and many of their scalps bear the remnants of that infection. Which is worrying, figuring that a significant number of the children are possibly HIV positive.

However, the kids, dirty and stunted as they are, are incredibly loving and fun. They take great care of one another, and choose favorites among us to claim as their own. I have two or three myself, whose best attempt at my name has remained “Dun-kee,” and all the others team members have been adopted themselves.

The art camp has been going… okay, as there is somewhat of a language barrier keeping us from fully communicating what we meant to have the kids learn and experience. Some of the Youth for Christ, a team of local youngsters who we are partnering with for some sort of extended relationship with the orphanage after we leave, have been helping with translating, and they have been a great joy to have around.

Also, we spent some time painting some murals and pictures in the church building of the orphanage, and they have come out wonderfully! It’s pretty cool what can be done in 2 days, and hopefully we can have some sort of lasting impression through the painting we did, and the involvement of YfC once we’re gone.

And there’s other things I could mention, some of it centering around our concern for the cost and questionable effectiveness of short term missions, but we are still having a blast here and learning much about many things.

But for now, enjoy some pictures!

(This blog is actually by Duncan!)

Two little ones playing on a wheelbarrow

Inside church mural

Inside church mural

Inside church mural

Inside church mural

Cuteness at the orphanage

Duncan's hat was immediately confiscated

Orphanage

More cuteness

Somehow, she found a tube of lipstick :)

Jessica giving a hat to a little one

Modeling

"Vomit" Sweet & Sour Chicken. Chinese in Africa is questionable

Duncan and the child who claimed him

More cuteness at the orphanage

Chilling by the van

Love this face!

Eating snacks

Working at the art camp

Self-portrait, really good, right?

Two Updates!

Scenery from the ride

Our guide, and view from Whitney's horse when he wouldn't cooperate

Duncan and Whitney (how gorgeous is this?!)

Whitney on horse #2 after first horse became obstinate

Whitney on horse # 1

Beautiful scenery from horseback ride

Local shepherd

"God Help Me Pass" where we went horseback riding

Duncan and his horse

Duncan playing soccer with Youth from Christ

Our little friend (in next photo) took this photo. Impressive, no?

Our friend who is going to live in Canada very soon!

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Today was amazing! We drove through the incredible Lesotho mountains to go horseback riding. These mountains are breathtaking, even in winter. We were told that in the spring they are green, full of life! But as we road these Lesotho ponies through the countryside I kept thinking about how big and awesome our God is to create something so grand.

I (Whitney) have had a rather accident-prone kind of day, which started off with trying to dodge the scalding hot water in the shower and smashing my ankle into the side of the shower. But, at least there is a shower and hot water! Then at the horseback riding venture, I had to dismount my horse on an incline as it has become obstinate, and fell while getting off. Add another slip of the foot later, my body has taken a beating, but all my own fault. Oh wells, I recover quickly J You’ll notice in the pictures that I had to switch horses half-way through the ride. The original horse refused to move after a certain point, so the guide let me ride his horse, who I affectionately called Tiny Dancer.

We saw more of the Africa I think we were all expecting today. Driving through the more rural areas allowed us to see how life is lived day-to-day: small houses, women out in the fields or working, young boys herding cattle or sheep, clothes out in the sunshine to dry. It was both heart-warming to see the joy with which people smiled and waved at us and heart-breaking to see a school composed of four tiny shacks. We laughed that in America you would be arrested for allowing your five-year-old to herd sheep all day—how we would never let our children do something so dangerous—yet here, that is just a way of life. Incredible.

Tomorrow we experience church and meet the teenagers with Youth for Christ that we have been anxious to connect with. Please keep us in your prayers, we have felt them thus far!

Whitney

July 25, 2010

Went to church this morning—an international church that is led in English. I even knew most of the songs we sang. We met up with the Dimmocks (the North Avenue missionaries) again and spent some time with some of the children who are being adopted (three who are currently living with the Dimmocks before the transition into their new families), and one in particular who is being adopted by a North Avenue family. He fell asleep while I was holding him—and cried when the Dimmocks took him to go home. I think he’s just so excited to be with his new family, whom we represent. It was a really tender experience.

After church we grabbed some lunch and took stock of everything we transported on the plane. It’s rather amazing how much we were able to pack in the checked luggage! Art supplies, more than 200 blankets for the kids, socks and undergarments, and five guitars.

After that work time, we went and met the teenagers from Youth for Christ and spent two hours hanging out with them—what awesome kids! We played soccer and ultimate frisbee with them for a few hours. They were loving and full of life. They’ll be with us at the orphanage this week, and hopefully will carry on a loving relationship with the orphanage long after we are gone.

Now we’re headed to grab some Chinese and then to spend more time with the Dimmocks. Tomorrow we begin our work at the orphanage and will surely have more to report!

Thanks for all your prayers!

Greetings from Africa!

We’ve made it Lesotho! Our plane ride was more than 17 hours, and today we drove for more than 8 hours (with a few breaks). It doesn’t really feel like we’re on a completely other continent because we haven’t quite had time to realize it yet. So far the landscape looks like being “out west” but more expansive. Tomorrow we’re going horseback riding through a mountain pass. Internet is limited, so we may not be able to update while we are here. But be assured we are safe and happy and excited to share all of the joy later!

Much love,

Whitney

A Place to Call Home

Well, 'tis official, we are homeowners. Everything went very smoothly on Friday and we even managed to set up all of our utilities and the like to be ready when we get back from Africa. The realtor who represented the seller shared with us that she had advised him not to take our offer as we asked the sellers to put a lot of money toward closing, etc. But the man said he had been praying about selling this house, and now a seminary student had made an offer--so he accepted. Amazing how God is always working behind the scenes when we can't see.

I was sharing with a friend today that so much is happening right now, it sort of feels like a dream. The house is ours, but it still feels far away since we aren't moving in until August 2. And even though our bags are packed and Wednesday is so close, I don't think this Africa journey will feel like it is really happening until I'm on the plane!

It's funny how life throws little obstacles in your way... I got a flat tire on Thursday (bye-bye $100) and my cell phone dropped dead (as in, cut off in the middle of a conversation and wouldn't turn back on...) on Saturday (bye-bye another $100). But we're so completely surrounded in joy and excitement that those little hiccups didn't even phase us.

Please keep us and our team in your prayers in the next two weeks! Hopefully we'll be updating from Africa... check out church blog for updates as well at http://napcmissionaries.wordpress.com

Much love!

Thank You!

With every passing day, life gets a little bit crazier. We're less than a week from closing on the house (is this even real?!), and just over a week from leaving for Lesotho. Oh my! We had HIV/AIDS training today at the church and we're going to start packing our suitcases tonight (along with all of other earthly belongings... which is just a tad overwhelming).

As you can imagine, we're a bit stressed, extremely excited, and running at full steam. What a treat it was to receive a letter in the mail from GeeGee with funds towards art supplies. It was a great reminder that God is in the midst of this craziness, and a refreshing sentiment that we've got a lot of support in all of these efforts!

So, GeeGee, thanks for writing and your support! We went out tonight and bought the art supplies and thought you'd like to see what's headed south thanks to you!

Please keep us in your prayers!

Preparations

Well, the Meadows are in a time of preparation.

So far, so good on the house. Everything seems to be falling into place, and if that continues to be true, we'll be closing on July 16 (less than two weeks!). We had a very successful yard sale at Mom and Dad's this weekend--the proceeds of which are going to be a huge help as we move forward in the closing process. Thanks to our families and friends who helped, we couldn't have done it without you!

But equally as close and in need of preparation is our trip to Africa. I can't believe it's actually this close. We'll be leaving on July 21. Oh my, that's soon. And it's hard not to be so consumed by the new house that we fail to give adequate attention to our hearts and faith as we get ready for this incredible experience in Lesotho. In the midst of boxes, newspaper, and general chaos in the apartment, I'm finding it valuable and challenging to carve out space to listen to God, the activity I think would be most beneficial as we prepare for the trip.

Would you pray for Duncan and me? Pray that we can keep it all together over the next month, and that we can tune out the chaos and listen for the Spirit.

We're also collecting art supplies for the art camp we'll be helping lead. Here's the list of what we're looking for: markers, crayons, watercolor paints and paintbrushes, colored pencils, number two pencils, pencil sharpeners, ribbon, watercolor paper, construction paper, glue sticks, and child scissors (think of your elementary school art class for ideas!). If you might be willing to give any of these items, please let me know and I'll come pick them up! To buy one (or one pack) of each of these would cost less than $25. It's an easy, inexpensive, and fun way to share love with a child.

Thanks for all your prayers and support!