BABOONS!!!

That title made you want to read it, huh?!? I'll go in reverse chronological order to report the past few days, but this morning I saw a large pack of baboons on my drive to Red Hill!!  I had asked our driver, Fransi, if I would get to see baboons, and he had told me more than likely I would in my time here.  So as we come to a stop sign, he says, "do you have your camera?" and I say "no." He says, "WHAT?!?! WHY NOT?!?!" And as I'm trying to explain to him that they told us not to bring our cameras until we build relationships with our friends in the townships, he interrupts and says, "well, your wish is my command!" and points to the baboons on the side of the road.  I was SOO happy and excited to see them!!!  They were just chillin', riding on one another's backs, picking in the grass for food, looking at us as we slowly passed.  Here's a pic I was able to grab from my iPhone.

Anyway, after getting to Red Hill today, we had our daily staff devotion in the shelter, which I learned today is only a few months old, and shared communion with one another.  I have been reminded time and time again of how small the world is, because the group that is working in Red Hill for one week is from Knoxville with a church of Middlebrook Pike...seriously?!!?  Then, all of the Samford girls staying in the house with me here know one of the youth from Oak Grove who went to Samford - they are sorority sisters and one works in the same doctor's office as her!  Next, the kids came swarming into the shelter!!  The electricity was out, which is a common occurrence here in Africa, so we did not have music this morning, but we still danced and had a good time together!  Wednesday is the day that they are fed a "hot lunch" by Living Hope, so after they ate, I headed back to the Living Hope office for another round of orientation.

Yesterday was my first day in the township - I was so excited to see Red Hill, where Ryan had spent so much of his time while he was here!  It is a wonderful place, full of vibrant and joyful children!!  Like I mentioned earlier, I won't be posting pics of my time there until my last couple of weeks, but I'll be sure to do so once I am able!  I met all of the staff and longterm volunteers in Red Hill - Pastor Kennedy, Lumca, Gordon, Kylie, Julia, and Leslie.  They were all wonderful and helped show me where things are and helped me learn the basics of the office and surrounding area.

This week and next week are what they call "holiday club" because the kids are on holiday right now and do not have school, so we have kids before lunch then teens after lunch.  We start at 10am and the kids stream in for about 15 minutes before we gather for songs. The music was playing over the portable speakers and before I knew it, I was holding hands and dancing with the most beautiful children, just smiling and laughing away! Then we got into a big circle to sing together. It's pretty incredible hearing these kids sing praise songs we have all sung in youth like "How Great Is Our God" and "Where You Go, I'll Go."  Then to top things off today, they all said the Lord's Prayer in unison...it brought tears to my eyes.  God is so big and so good! :)  But then we all get in 3 lines, ages 3-5, ages 6-7, and ages 8-10, and parade around the township chanting and singing.  Today, all of the American who were present sang our national anthem to recognize July 4th!  After the parade, we break up into the three age groups for VBS type stuff - games, Bible lesson, memory verse, and crafts.  Most days, they receive a lunch that consists of a sandwich and a piece or 2 of fruit.

The staff then has a lunch break as well before Teens Club from 2-4pm.  So yesterday, the teens made their way in and we kicked around 3 beach balls for a bit, then started with a game, then songs and Bible lesson. Oh, and how have I gotten this far and not mentioned the infamous dog of Red Hill!! So last summer, Ryan came home from his 10-day trip and was showing me the pictures - I was like, "aww, look at that cute puppy!!"  His response, "that's Roxy, she may be cute, but she's the biggest nuisance EVER!!!"  True story, she's super cute and just wants someone to love on her and play with her, but she's everywhere that you don't want her to be!!  She helps herself right into the shelter where we all are, and I learned quickly to yell, "PUMA, PUMA!!" at her, which means "get out, get out!!"  Surprisingly, she responds well, and turns around immediately to leave.  I'll be sure and post pictures of Roxy later as well.

Monday was a full day of orientation.  We climbed in the van (or "quantum") to get the driving tour of the townships and surrounding areas. Since Red Hill is the farthest away, we did not make it there on the driving tour Monday, but I must say that it is the most beautiful drive I have ever been on, and I consider myself incredibly fortunate to drive that route 5 days/week for 5 weeks!!  (Again, I'll take pictures to post later!)  The tour did, however, include each aspect of Living Hope: Living Way (the economic empowerment sect), Living Care (the medical sect), Living Grace (the homeless sect), and Living Right (the education/prevention sect).  Living Right is the main one I will be a part of while I'm here since it involves the children.  After the tour, we discussed many things that would help us understand what it would look like to enter all of these communities as outsider.  We learned that we cannot take our pre-conceived notions with us; rather we must enter with an open heart and open mind to notice how much these communities have to offer and all that we may be able to learn from them while we are here.  I cannot wait to see how these wonderful people are involved in transforming my life!  I am loving it here already, and can't believe that tomorrow will already be one week away from home...I feel right at home here! :)