another week down which only means one week closer till I head back home.
9 days until it is October 1st and 38 days until I’m back home in Texas.
soon i leave this beachside paradise to head back to the flat, brown, pondview of Haslet! woo haha
It still hasn’t hit me yet how soon I am leaving…well
that’s a lie I think about it all the time. But my thoughts have been directed
to how excited I am about getting back and seeing the people I’ve missed. But
recently the feelings and thoughts of actually leaving this place have been
creeping up. The other day we were in a meeting, just the Capricorn/Overcome
kids team about some observations that was made over a few visits to club by
Danielle. She is an American volunteer that lives here and does the curriculum
for all the clubs. Love her so much! Well we’ve been having some discipline
problems in Capricorn so she’s been coming to club once a week just to see if
she sees anything we could do. So we finally had the meeting for her to let us
know. She gave us some good suggestions that we can use to help with the
structure. But my favorite thing she mentioned is how much our kids love
us. She said it was just apparent
that these kids adore you. I think I’ve grown accustomed to this. When the kids
get there, club starts at 3 and they usually get there at 2:30 and just wait by
the gate! BUT once the gate gets opened they run in screaming our names and
either run straight for a ball or straight for you with arms opened wide. No
better feeling than getting a hug from these kids. I’ve started sitting off
against the wall…hah honestly to get some sun, but never fails, I’ll always
have 4 or 5 kids just come sit by me or on me. Little things like that are what
I’m going to miss the most. Having kids playing soccer and then noticing me off
to the side, stop playing, run over give me a hug, saying hey Shelby! then
running back into the game. Priceless.
Another thing I loved about this meeting was when Meagan, our team
leader, told me she loves hearing Neville talk English to me. Neville is one of
those kids that literally gets in trouble almost every day at club! Which
obviously means he’s another one of my boys I reach out to. :] At first I
thought what a strange statement but then once I thought about it more…he
doesn’t really talk to anyone else except the LSE’s that speak Afrikaans.
this is Neville :]
Jeremiah!
3 musketeers. Neville. Denzil. Jeremiah
It really is going to be hard saying goodbye to these kids.
Almost 9 months I’ve been around them. I’ve become a part of their life and
they a part of mine. The other day I was sitting with Jeremiah and mentioned I
was leaving soon. His persona changed a bit then he looked at me and told me he
was really, really going to miss me. Talk about choking back the tears. Been
with that kid since the beginning. Just got to make sure I make these last few
weeks count and not just count down the weeks.
So now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, here’s how my
last week has gone.
One day after club I was
waiting for Jennifer to come back from Overcome, she was at teens club over
there. Well I went out by the street because I noticed this man standing there
selling stuff out of his trunk. I was curious so just walked down to see what
it was. Must say what I came up on was not anything I was expecting to see. In
the big tin bucket next to his trunk was a big pile of sheep’s head. From the
looks of them….they hadn’t been dead too long. Well instead of being completely
grossed out, like the lady in orange, I was very intrigued.
I saw this as an opportunity to learn a little more about this culture.
I talked to the guy for about 15 minutes. He seemed really excited to show me
how to cut the head and how you cook it, then he pulled out another bucket
which had intestines and told me about how you use this for stew and what not.
It’s a Xhosa culture thing, to eat sheep heads. They are called smileys because
when you boil them, the muscles get tight and pull the face back so it looks
like its smiling. Fun fact. You’re welcome. So that was my little bit of
cultural lesson for the day. I was THIS close to buying a head and bringing it
home, walking upstairs, putting it on the table and saying “I'm making dinner
tonight!” would have probably been the best 25rand spent here! But I decided maybe
next time…
Another highlight of my week was getting to see the faces on
some of my kids after a ride in a car. Jennifer and myself were driving into
Capricorn after club to take back the food containers. There is a mom in the
community that makes food for kids/teens club everyday. This is my favorite
part of the day because we get to drive into Capricorn and see the people. Well
I noticed a few of my kids were sitting on the curb so I got Jennifer to drop
me off and I just told her to pick me back up after she dropped the containers
off. The kids there were Denzil, Ashley, Neville, Chad, Jeremiah, and a few
others. These are the boys that have my heart even though they can be terrors
in club. I get out and they all have big smiles on their face when they see me
get out and walk over to them. Neville actually runs over and jumps in my arms,
which was a surprise. I get hugs from a few and the others just sit there. Some of the people in the community
looked confused that this white girl was just out on the streets, hanging out
with the kids. It’s funny how a
few months ago I wouldn’t stand in there by myself but now I feel completely
safe, at least with the kids around. Anyways we were talking for a good while,
I was told I needed to come hang out with them more often, which was nice to
hear. Well Jennifer gets back and I tell them I got to go. I get many hugs and
as I walk to the car some of them open the door and get in…which leads to ALL
of them to run over and get in. I look at Jennifer and just say take em around
the block and I’ll just wait here for yall. Well she wouldn’t let me stay by
myself, probably smart on her part. So I squeezed into the front seat with
another girl and we drove. I just wish you could see the looks on these kid’s
faces. You’d of thought they were going to Disney world for the first time.
Nope, they were just riding in a car. Windows rolled down; sticking half their
bodies outside yelling at the people we drove by just to get them to see that
they were driving around.
Moments like that are what keep me going. Seeing complete
joy because of something I have taken for granted all my life. Something as
simple as riding in a car with all your best buds. I live for the smiles on
their faces. The tiny arms that wrap around my neck when they see me for the
first time that day. The moments when I have kids come and sit by me because
they just want someone to love on them and they know they’ll always get it from
me. The moments my troublemakers flash me a smile when they’ve had a scowl on their
face all day. These moments are what make being away from home worth it. Me
missing out on birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, not getting to see the
people I love so much all the time. These kids have become family that will
always have a piece of my heart.
How lucky am I to have family all over the
world.
Blessed beyond measure.
Last time I wrote in this I talked about going on a home visit to see the dad of 3 of our kids. Their mother hung herself so we went to make sure everything was alright. Well this past week Ilana and myself went back to the house to bring the father some bags of canned food just to help out. He was really appreciative. Love being part of an organization that strives to help those in need. But it's even more of a blessing when I get to be the one to witness the gratitude on his face when he receives it.
me and adrian walking to his house to drop off the food.
LASTLY...in club this week we talked about Jonah and the Whale. So we made up 'pin jonah on the whale' haha it was hilarious. At one point we blind folded the kids, it happened to be Tyronne and Brian's turn. Once we got them blindfolded I told them now your going to have to really listen to what your team says because they are going to help direct you to the whale. After I said that I ran over to the big whale and moved it to another building! It was hilarious seeing them go straight to the wall it was on not feeling the paper there anymore. haha too funny. great week in club!
THEN once the weekend rolled around we decided the weather was too pretty not to do something, so we went on a hike. We went up Elephants Eye which was one i'd been wanting to do since we got here. It takes you up to this cave on the side of the mountain, which from far away looks like an eye and the mountain kind of looks like an elephant....hints the name. Anyways it was Jennifer and myself plus the 3 guys -Jonie, Matt and Ben. We didn't get around to going until like noon so it was HOT when we started which wasn't the best. The hike was pretty though. Good leg workout thats for sure but making it to the top was worth it. The cave was at least 10 degrees cooler which was fantastic! && the view was so pretty! It was a fun time
Ben attempting to rock climb. he got like 3 feet off the ground haha
the cave. go us
After the hike we all went into Cape Town and what do ya know..back to Green Market Square. This was my 3rd Saturday in a row to be back and it's so funny walking through again and seeing people look at you and knowing they know you. Love it. I made my rounds and saw everyone I've become friends with. One of the guys even gave me this small little penguin he carved, just because. It was fun introducing everyone to the 3 guys and Jennifer. Didn't make it out there today, but Monday is a holiday so we don't have work. Might head that way...who knows.
You have the opportunity to be that one person to someone who needs what you have to offer. And what you have to offer is never small & insignificant. Again, the great picture of what God is doing in our world is incomplete without your unique puzzle piece -- the one that only you posses. But you must choose to place your piece in the puzzle. No one has ever lived the same life as you...and that is one of the things that makes your 'puzzle piece' extraordinary!
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