I have a heavy heart tonight. I just finished crocheting a little baby hat for one of the babies in Masi. It's a township just a couple of miles from the Living Hope office. Masiphumelele is the official name, but everyone calls it Masi. There was a fire in Masi early Saturday morning. Three adults and one 2-year-old child died in the fire. That's hard enough to take, but the story behind the story is crushing. One of the adults who died was the grandmother of the child. She had just recently moved in with her 22-year-old daughter and got her ID booklet. It was a long time coming from the government. When the fire started in their primitive house, the grandma grabbed the child and put her on her back. They got out in time, but the grandmother turned back into the flaming house, with the little girl still on her back, to retrieve her new ID booklet. She never got out again; the flames and smoke overcame her...and her granddaughter. I met the young woman who had lost both her mother and her child. She sat on a chair with the pain reflected in her eyes. I went to her and told her I was sorry for her loss. She nodded. When I hugged her, she held on to me, a stranger, like she was drowning in her sorrow. I sat opposite her in a chair and asked if I could pray for her and took her hands. I prayed that God would ease her pain and give her comfort and help her get through this.
Not only did we give her clothes, but made sure she had bedding and food.
It's her haunting eyes that stay with me tonight. Now I remember the same look in the eyes that I had seen before, years ago: after hurricane Katrina, I went with a medical group to a town near New Orleans. The people there had that same look, that same haunted look in their eyes, like they had awakened too many mornings to realize the nightmare was real.
Please pray for this young woman. God knows her name. He has it engraved on the palm of His hand.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Saturday, December 7, 2013
It's been an unusual week! A church donated $12,000 to the Life Skills Program. That makes us $29,000 total: the $26,000 we asked God for, and some left over. We serve an incredible God!
Friday, I attended the monthly SIM prayer meeting. I made brownies, with chocolate chips sent to me in a care package from the States. Then, that evening, I went to a dinner party at Susan's. I bought a meringue and we made a Pavlova dessert with whipped cream and fruit. It was lovely. I am learning all kinds of new recipes.
Nelson Madella died Thursday. It was such a sad thing, though he had lived to 95 years. Everywhere I went, there was evidence of the respect and love that everyone in South Africa had for this great man. Friday night when I was driving through St. James, there was a sign outside one of the shops that said it all: "Rest in peace, Madiba."
This morning, my neighbor, Gina, and I went to a Christmas bazaar, then decided to go to Constantia to the mall there...over the mountain. I had never driven over the mountain and was rather afraid to do so because of the winding, narrow road. But, with Gina with me, I wanted to try it...and I did! Woohoo! We found the mall and I did a little Christmas shopping, then we stopped for coffee (for Gina) and hot chocolate for me. It wasn't until I arrived back home that I realized I didn't have the present. I remembered leaving it on the chair next to me at the coffee shop. But, I didn't pick it up again and left it there. I went to Gina's and her and another neighbor, Angela wanted to go back to the mall with me. Angela doesn't have a car and Gina doesn't drive hers much, so they were both glad to get out and go. We didn't find the present; it was gone and no one turned it in. We checked all of the stores we had visited but no one had seen it. One of the stores we visited was a French pastry shop. It had wonderful things and Gina and I both took something home. I had not driven across the mountains until today and now, I've done it twice! That's a huge accomplishment for me! Thank You, Lord! "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."
Friday, I attended the monthly SIM prayer meeting. I made brownies, with chocolate chips sent to me in a care package from the States. Then, that evening, I went to a dinner party at Susan's. I bought a meringue and we made a Pavlova dessert with whipped cream and fruit. It was lovely. I am learning all kinds of new recipes.
Nelson Madella died Thursday. It was such a sad thing, though he had lived to 95 years. Everywhere I went, there was evidence of the respect and love that everyone in South Africa had for this great man. Friday night when I was driving through St. James, there was a sign outside one of the shops that said it all: "Rest in peace, Madiba."
This morning, my neighbor, Gina, and I went to a Christmas bazaar, then decided to go to Constantia to the mall there...over the mountain. I had never driven over the mountain and was rather afraid to do so because of the winding, narrow road. But, with Gina with me, I wanted to try it...and I did! Woohoo! We found the mall and I did a little Christmas shopping, then we stopped for coffee (for Gina) and hot chocolate for me. It wasn't until I arrived back home that I realized I didn't have the present. I remembered leaving it on the chair next to me at the coffee shop. But, I didn't pick it up again and left it there. I went to Gina's and her and another neighbor, Angela wanted to go back to the mall with me. Angela doesn't have a car and Gina doesn't drive hers much, so they were both glad to get out and go. We didn't find the present; it was gone and no one turned it in. We checked all of the stores we had visited but no one had seen it. One of the stores we visited was a French pastry shop. It had wonderful things and Gina and I both took something home. I had not driven across the mountains until today and now, I've done it twice! That's a huge accomplishment for me! Thank You, Lord! "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."
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