They call me Ma!

Lifeskill Educators.  That's their title, the young people from South Africa who work at Living Hope.  Some are married, some not.  Actually, they are not all from South Africa.  Some are missionaries from the States...precisely, from Tennessee...and then there's me.  I am not young, but seasoned.  And they call me Ma!  In South Sudan, they called me Mama Grace.

These young men and women have a hard job, always dealing with HIV and AIDS, orphans, and death and dying.  They come into the Resource center to work on their lessons for the day or the next day and to print off those lessons and make copies for the children or teens.

I came up with an idea: to have a Bible Quiz every day.  I put a question on the wall above the computers.  They sometimes know the answer and sometimes don't and have to look it up, either by borrowing my Bible or they Google it.  Then,  they write their guess on a slip of colored paper and put it in the special box on my desk.  Around 12 or 1pm, I take all the correct answers and shake them up and have someone who didn't take the quiz today pull out a the winning name.  The winner gets a piece of candy from the jar on my desk.  They love "sweeties" as they're called.  One of the guys said, "Nobody just gives sweeties away for nothing.  There has to be a catch."  This is the answer the Lord gave me: "The catch is you opened the Bible to find the answer.  That's what I wanted you to do: open the Bible.  That's the catch!"  He nodded.  He understood.  Yesterday's question was, "What book and chapter of the Bible tells the story of the birth of Jesus?".  The answer could have been Matthew 1 or Luke 2.  At 1pm yesterday, we picked the "catch" man's buddy.  Today, the question was, "For God so loved the world..." The answer was John 3:16.  More answered today and all got it right.  Some told their buddies the wrong answer, trying to throw them off and give themselves better odds at winning.  They laugh and are having a good time.  They perform a service, a tough one.  They deserve a fun distraction.  Today, they kept coming in to the Resource Center to remind me it was time to draw the winner.  They crowded around my desk during "the big draw".
They call me Ma...and I feel like it.  These young men and women are my "other kids".  They just have a darker tan than I do!  Please pray for them and the people they serve.

New picture

New picture for my flat: beach huts - painted and framed at Living Way!

Living Hope

This is the Resource Center at Living Hope.  The Life Skill Educators are sorting toothbrushes that were donated.  No job too small!

Still sick.

In the last month, I have had the flu, bronchitis, and now a virus.  I'm getting tired of being sick.  I know the Lord brought me here to this beautiful place by the sea so I could do His work.  I've been doing work with Living Hope and really enjoy what I'm doing.  But, no one wants to hear my "seal imitation"!  Just last week, Avril called us together to talk about patients with TB coming into the office and how we need to protect ourselves by asking them to wear a mask.

Today, Avril asked if my doctor had done a TB test on me.  That did little to encourage me.  I told God so.  Then, Ruth called, said she had been thinking of me and wondered how I was feeling and what the doctor said.  (Thanks, Lord.)  Shortly after that, David called.  He's our small group leader.  He said he didn't see me at church yesterday and wondered how I was.  He also asked if there was anything he could do to help.  I told him about the picture I've been trying to hang but just can't seem to get it right.  He said he'd be over after work to see what he can do.  I told him how much I appreciate his help.  That's when he said our group knows I'm here by myself and they want to be my family away from home.  He couldn't have said it better.  Thank You, Lord!  Then, his mother called and said she would stop by.  Thank You, thank You, Lord!  I so appreciate my "family away from home" and how You take care of me!