a nice welcome home

IMG_4781
Originally uploaded by duprasville4

And we're back

It's interesting that it takes so long to do very normal things. For example, calling my parents. That's easily something I should have done Saturday morning. Writing this post, took me 3 days.

Today, Brian goes back to work. Today is my first full day back at home with the two boys (wonder what we'll do?).

It's nice being home. It's REALLY nice having clean clothes.
What's interesting to me is that at no time on our trip did I feel like "ugh, when do we go home?" Even the day that we left, I felt like I was just rolling along with the schedule. No feelings of exhaustion. Amazing.

The other thing that has been brewing inside of me is this feeling that I didn't do enough. I fear the parable of the servants and the talents -- did I bury my coin? I've felt that God has responded with "oh, is it all about you then?" The truth is, what I think I've done is on a totally different economy than what God sees that I've done. I've struggled with wanting to have something to show for my work when what the Lord wants is my heart, not my hands. He wants my availablity, my willingness, my surrender, not my task list.

One of the things Erika, Beam's director, said is that we may never understand how much the work Brian did means to them, and how valuable it is to the center (Brian worked on setting up their computer lab, installed software, ran virus scanners, etc). My mom reminded me that it was my initiative to even go to South Africa and that alone is obedience to God's calling.

I'm also excited to see how this trip will change my boys' lives. It may be in small ways that only show up here and again, or it may change their lives in big ways -- establishing a heart for overseas missions. Seeing their own lives differently. An understanding that the world is a big place and that there is more than what we can see from our zip code.

We fly home today

Can you believe it?

Our flight is at 3:45pm and we arrive in Denver at... 6:25pm. If only it really was a 2 1/2 hour flight!

We're ready to be home, but not in a "I'm ready to be home!" sort of a way. Or at least, I'm not. I'm ready to have clean clothes (I dream about it) and a room seperate from my kids, but I don't feel like I'm exhausted from travel.

It'll be great to be home. Really.

anne

Correspondence from our trip

While we were in Africa, internet access was spotty and cumbersome. I did, however, manage to get out some emails to friends and coworkers. In reflecting on the trip, I thought these excerpts would make a good blog entry. -Brian

Greetings from S Africa

I'm writing to you from a computer lab at the Education center where I'm updating about 10 computers with Adult Education and literacy software. Outside my wife and kids and the rest of our group are talking with about 150 local children about life skills and the gospel.

It's amazing the idiotic policies that the gov't has to deal with the poverty. They're building brand-new slums and concentrating all the poor into high density living areas outside the cities. No jobs, no transportation. It's like they're building hopelessness intentionally. Frustrating to see firsthand.

Gotta go - good to hear from you.

And an email from just before we left Africa:

Final update

Our work at the township has concluded. Another group of young missionaries has arrived at the education center, and we've driven down to the Indian Ocean coast to a town called St. Lucia for a couple days R&R.

Serving at the education center was a privilege - the children and adults served by the center are so grateful for our visit. During our time there we played a lot of soccer with the children, upgraded a lab full of computers with adult literacy training software, and even started a business. A group of disabled adults served by the center have banded together to start a car wash business, and will expand to create an internet cafe in time. Kevin, a businessman that traveled with us, has been consulting on the business plan and has started a micro-finance program to assist with startup funding. This program will persist and is targeted at helping the people of Nellmapius rise out of their poverty by thier own hands. The enthusiasm of the people served by this program is a joy to witness.

For the Dupras family, we have two more nights in South Africa and then we travel back with a layover in London for a few nights. Pray for safety health in travel - we have a long way to go.

London R&R, then home again

We're in London now, laying over for three days R&R and sightseeing on the way back home. We took the boys on a surprise trip to Legoland as a reward for their spectacular travel behavior. We've also seen the London Eye - a ginormous ferriswheel-like attraction along the south bank of the Thames, directly across from Big Ben and Parliament.

London is a beautiful city. We're staying in Camden in what appears to be the birthplace of punk. Interesting hair and body art abound. Is it wrong to have your 7 year old tattooed?

We have one more full day here and then it's on home again. Pray for safe travel.

Brian

Things I've learned

The number one thing I've learned is how incredibly stinkin' rich we are. I learned what aspects of my everyday life are luxurious, what things I take for granted (no guilt here, just observation), and how amazing my kids are.

I've always known that my kids are amazing, but watching them with the kids at BEAM, seeing how well they "roll with the punches" of travel, their attitudes (for the most part), and their sweet spirits. I'm so in awe of who they are. I'm excited to see who they are in 5 years, 10 years and into adulthood.

I had no idea that hot water was such a luxury. I mean, I suppose I did, but in reality, not having hot water sometimes was a huge inconvenience for me. I can get used to the whole don't-drink-the-water way of life, but not having ::hot:: water was difficult.It's hard to wash hands and keep dirt from getting trapped under your fingernails. I was able to have a cup of tea each day because of an electric kettle. Even as I write this, I feel like I'm whining.

We are in Paradise!

We're in St. Lucia, on the Indian Ocean coast. Today, Brian and I took the 5 boys to the beach and it was absolutely beautiful! The boys loved feeling the sand beneath their feet and the pull of the current (which made me crazy thinking they'd be carried off to sea!).

We weren't exactly sure how long it would take to drive here from Jo'berg and we got different answers from everyone we asked. We heard 3 1/2 hours to 7 and it took us... 10. There was construction that closed one of the two lanes of traffic. We'd have to stop for the oncoming cars for sometimes a half an hour. It was miserable. Everyone was cranky in the car. Poor Andy.

We are staying at the most beautiful place. It's called the Avalone Guest House and it's prettier than the pictures make it look. We went exploring behind the property and I felt like I was at a theme park -- we saw banana trees, thorn trees and those African trees that you see when you think of, well, African trees.

We went for a boat tour this morning and saw hippos and crocodiles.

The rest of the group left for home last Wednesday (they should be back by now). Now it's just us.

And that's about all I have to say today.

(oh, and I'm on a shared computer so I still can't upload pictures.)

controlled chaos

we did some out-right crafts today. We made butterflies with coffee filters and clothespins. We sequestered the girls into the church (the boys are way too rowdy) and made bracelets with their names on them with beads. You can only imagine: I'm sitting in a chair with a box of seperated beads in my lap. Children EVERYWHERE. Some of them understood what we were doing, most of them knew how to spell their name, others needed help from others. I'm just hoping that they keep their name bracelets for the next group (who arrived today) to help them with names. Yeah, so we kicked out the boys and so the next group won't know the boys' names either.

Next group?

Yes, a young fresh group arrived today from the States. They're college students from NE, CO, UT, WY and SD and arrived in Pretoria from Jo'berg today. There's probably 20 of them and it's funny how we all feel like veterans since we've been here a week.

Tomorrow is our last full day with Beam and then on Wednesday, most of the team travels back to Denver (Kevin and his son Brian are travelling to Namibia, the McCulloughs and the Dupras are driving to the Indian Ocean coast on Thursday). We have one full day of overlap with the two teams and then we can pass the baton to the young fresh group.

We're not nearly as tired as I would think we could be, but we are definately ready to go back to our hostel by 4pm.

We're going to try and post some pictures either today or tomorrow.
annie

I Got Bit by a Lion Today!

yeah, ok, so it was a cub, but still!
We went to a Lion Park today -- which was amazing -- and had a chance to pet the lion cubs, feed ostriches, and see some giraffes, well, mating. This was like a very small safari. We all piled into a caged truck and drove through the plains. We saw zebra, antelopes, hyenas, and cheetahs. They have 4 prides -- one with white lions -- and they've each got their own fenced in area to roam. When we got their, it was right after they got fed (horse meat) so we got to see them tear into their meal for the week.
We're all sitting together in the common room so I'm feeling really distracted, but I wanted to let you know that I got bit by a lion (cub).
Pictures to come.

We get to go back to Beam tomorrow. It may be muddy.

Happy Fourth of July!

Yes, I realize that every country has a fourth of July, but well, Happy Independence Day! We had a nice braai* with Louis and Erika (the founders of Beam) at their beautiful house. They cooked up sausages, baked potatoes underneath the fire and made a delicious soup. We dined al fresco as, I suppose, the Africans do.

On the illness front, as of right now (as far as I know) 11/17 of us have gotten sick. Isaac's been sick twice, as with some of the McCullough boys. It's tiring.
I did not go to Beam last Friday because I was caring for Isaac and Brian. I mentioned to Charlie that he may not be able to go because he wouldn't have a parent with him, and he was so very sad. Thankfully, Jeanine agreed to take him under her wing. Later, when Brian was feeling better, I dropped him off at Beam so he could work on some more computer stuff. Charlie had a great time and I was so excited he was able to go. Since about half of our team was sick, we didn't have the same presence that we had on earlier days. But, wouldn't you know it, that particular day, there weren't a lot of kids.

Our Accommodations
The place we are staying is, well, NOT the height of luxury. In fact, many of our luxuries are absent. As soon as some of us realized this wasn't a Holiday Inn -- it's a lot like camping -- our transition became smoother.
Part of me realizes that our accommodations are appropriate for our work. Just about all our luxuries have been stripped away, yet we still have more than the kids at Beam. Here, we have beds, blankets, electricity, and the ability to attain what we lack, ie: food, medicine, heaters...
So, we maynot have heat (without our heater that we bought!), we may not have exceptional indoor plumbing (including hot water on demand), it may not be a sterile place to share, we may not be eating what we're used to eating... it's still better than what those kids have. Much better.


*look it up

The Stomach Bug has Attacked!!

Three members of our team came down with this nasty stomach bug today: Paul, Robin and Isaac. The rest of us are just waiting until it's our turn to catch it. (remember, Luke had it first, then Charlie got it)
BUT I have loads of pictures to share with you. I'm uploading most of them to Flickr for you to browse through :)
I've met about 100 different kids and know about 4, maybe 5. of their names! Some of them have traditional names like Maria, Michelle, Teddy, Tim etc. and then another lot has names that are words: Surprise, Gift, Respect, Beauty... The kids that have traditional African names are the hardest for me to hold on to. It kind of doesn't matter.
They're very sweet. There's one girl that just wants to hugged or held and she'll literally hang off of you so that she can be in constant contact. There are others who like to play games like soccer, basketball and cricket. We brought jump ropes today (much fun, hard to regulate), construction paper and crayons (super fun) and Charlie had a chance to have his own "station" and taught some kids how to fold paper airplanes. I was literally thinking to myself "we're making paper airplanes for Jesus!" (I helped with the overflow).
We have devotions each morning and talk through a bible study that talks about the poor. We talked a lot about how our perspective had changed since we've been here. We can see what is excessive in our homes (b/c this kids literally have nothing) and in our lives (you're in how many bible studies?). We are challenged by the fact that there will always be the poor, and it's our job to do something about it. We can't solve the problem, but we can do what we can to help individuals and maybe change lives!
hopefully more tomorrow,
please please pray that this bug is gone quickly and that no more members of our team contract it.
annie

ps: I almost forgot! Robin, me and the boys went to drive out to the grocery store the other day. I really thought I knew the way, but I was mistaken. So we drove around Pretoria, on the left side of the road, without a map. Yeah, it was cool. (of course we got lost! but we found the other grocery store that we gad been hoping to go to!)

Oh! and all but 1 bag came today. The last bag is full of Crocs for the kids. I've learned a valuable lesson in packing: split up your clothes over 2 bags (if you're bringing 2), and have an extra set of clothes in your carry on.


::UPDATE::
two more members are sick, Jack and Kristin.