What a journey the last year and half has been. I'm trying to think about the days of packing up my house in California or my first week here but it's definitely a little blurry, seems like forever ago.
-I have moved into 3 different houses
-I have been able to get to know 18 volunteers from all over the world
-I have worked roughly +325 shifts
-I have fed roughly 972 bottles
-I have changed +2600 nappies
-I have been blessed to have been apart of 7 adoptions
-I have been able to love on 19 babies And countless number of kiddos from many different communities
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| My Current House |
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| My Families Tree |
I am currently sitting in my parents living room watching Charlie Brown Christmas. I surprised my parents for three weeks. It has been a great time in California but that story is for next time...
I have learned so much about myself and my Heavenly Father so I just wanted to share a little bit of what I've learned. So here are 18 things I have learned over the past 18 months.
1. Christmas makes me very happy. I listen to Christmas music all the time and it genuinely brightens my mood. March/April were some tough months for me so lots of Christmas music was played.
2. I have learned what Hope as my anchor truly means for me in my life. Hope of what's to come, the promises that Jesus has made in scriptures, to me personally and for my babies.
3. Going to Church is so valuable to me! Being a pastors kid was really rough in many different ways. Having to be at church every Sunday morning, Wednesday night, and possibly Fridays and Saturdays depending on events is not as fun as it sounds. With the way my job is out here, I work 3 weekends out of the month. God has really shown how important church is for me. A lot of Joy has been brought back to my heart getting to worship with other Christians. I immediately highlight my Sunday off and look forward to it every month.
4. Conflict resolution. I will always need to grow in this area but I feel like I have grown leaps and bounds dealing with so many types of people.
5. I honestly didn't think I could ever love such a tiny human as much as I love my sweet little girl. It is very overwhelming that my heart can hold all this love. Sometimes I wonder as new babies come in if there is enough room but, there always is and my heart continues to overflow.
6. Patience. Again it is a constant improving area. Between having 12
children under 2, the speed at which Refilwe functions, living a minimum
of 20 min away from any shops, and trying to always function with at
least 3 people constantly, I would like to think my patience has
improved in the last 18 months.
7. The 5 Love Languages. The mission field is a very sensitive area. At any time, people are dealing with homesickness, struggles in their relationship with The Lord, dealing with opposition, or the girls house just keeping our emotions in check everyday. God is showing me that everyone feels loved and appreciated in different ways. I want to learn how to make sure that in my care for the people around me, I can do that in the most effective way. Most people appreciate and love others in the way they feel loved and appreciated.
8. Very Ironic but I am not a good solo traveler. Traveling between Cali and SA is so stressful. Being in a weird airport is very overwhelming. I was in London for a layover, a English speaking country, and I almost passed out. Please have a good laugh about it, It's pretty ridiculous. If I am with someone I am fine, but the idea of being abandoned or left behind with no communication or money is definitely in my top terrifying scenarios.
9. I can only stay awake for roughly 40 hrs before I loose my marbles ( just don't ask lol)
10. I can handle spiders as long as they are smaller than a nickel uhh make that a dime. Any bigger and you might find me crying
11. I thought as a preschool teacher I had a fairly good grasp on what parenting is... Nope. Parenting is Hard!
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| A Typical Day for Me |
12. South Africa is really far from California. I don't really grasp that till I'm flying and I watch my plane on the screen fly slowly across. It takes a ridiculous amount of hours to get here. I should have moved to a closer country.... Just kidding.
13. Some of the most generous people, are the people who have not much to give. My friends in Joe Slovo are good slaps in the face to show me how selfish and spoiled I can be. God is showing me to be content and grateful with little. My "little" is still considered a lot. Working on my "little" to get smaller and smaller.
14. Kitchen Sponges are not as evil as I once thought. Still are not my favorite though.
15. I am so old fashion. Texting is great but talking on the phone/skyping/in person is really how I feel like I am connecting with people. It's so hard to read peoples responses and reactions in a couple written out responses.
16. I can finally drive a manual car! It took me a solid year to build up the courage and to have my brain, hands and feet all coordinating. Now I have the option to go somewhere if I need too. It's not as much freedom as you think. First there has to be a car available and second with shops being so far away I think its silly for me to just go out whenever. Usually there is coordinating with other people, schedules and their needs. ( last part of #6, coordinating with at least 3 people at all times)
17. God is good. There is a lot of crap in this world, and I've seen lots of suffering just in my own backyard. I've really wrestled in the last two years with the idea that if God is good why is there so much suffering. Sometimes I get frustrated with the things I can't explain. Why are my kids in Joe Slovo in the midst of being treated unjustly? There are babies all over SA being abandoned. Why is adoption all over the world declining when there are millions of abandoned kids? God sees the whole span of time and I don't. God is love and I have to trust that He is sovereign. I'm not explaining this well, but in my head I have sorted through this conclusion. I would really encourage anyone who struggles with this idea about God to read a book by Randy Alcorn called "If God is Good". It really helped me sort through all the questions in my head.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits the eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. Romans 8:18
18. God is the great I AM. God has so many names, titles and descriptions. In the past 18 months
God has shown me a lot about his character in different seasons and trials. He is my Heavenly Father, (Isa. 64:8) My Hope, (Ps. 71:5) My Refuge and Strength, (Ps. 46:1) He is Faithful and True (Rev. 19:11). As I continue to spend more time with God, I get to know Him more and more. It's one of the great things about it taking over a lifetime to get to know God, He is __________ (fill in the blank).
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| A typical scene at the gate of the baby house. The Joe Slovo boys. |
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| In October Baby A ended up in the Hospital for 3 days. 3 sleepless nights, antibiotics and lots of prayers she ended up being okay. |
One of the most challenging things for me at the holidays, and especially at Christmas, is that it’s so hard to imagine what my kids who are with their forever families are doing on the day. Of the 7 babies that were adopted since I was here, we’ve only received one update through our adoption agency over a year ago! It would be so incredible to be able to picture my babies with their new families and have a ‘fly on the wall’ moment into their Christmas days! 
To all my Babies who are celebrating their first Christmas with their families.... Merry Christmas! I hope the day is full of joy, cheer and not too much crankiness. I can only imagine the excitement your parents have to finally celebrate Christmas as a Family! 
