Hello again!

7/28 Thanks so much for checking in with us. We realized that we didn't mention where we were at. We are staying in White River, South Africa. It is about 30 minutes from the larger city of Nelspruit. We are stationed with a group of YWAM missionaries and a recent organization called "Ten Thousand Homes". They focus on helping the vulnerable and orphaned children. So far almost all of the families in the community that we have visited have a parent or sibling who is infected with the HIV virus. Since the virus has killed much of the older generation, many children and families are without food or a place to stay, and often times the head of the household is a small child who looks after the other siblings. That is where "Ten Thousand Homes" comes into help. They build care centers in the nearby communities for the children to come throughout the day for care and food. They also provide further education purposes (life skills, construction classes, etc) for the older children when they are done with grade 12. Many have no where to go, and no specific skills to get a job once they are finished with school. We helped start a new outreach yesterday, called "Elizabeth's Inn", in the town of Kabokweni (15 minutes from where we stay). A woman by the name of Elizabeth began providing a home for orphaned children and an after school outreach program. The organization is going to team up with her to build her a care center. We were the first group to go with her to the community and provide food and games for these children. It was such a joy to see them laugh and smile and get to know the volunteers that help Elizabeth. It seems like a huge blessing for the community, Kabokweni!!

Prayer requests: Strength and energy as we begin to build relationships with the community. Since we represent YWAM/Ten Thousand Homes, pray that the impressions that we leave in the community this week will build trust and hope in this new outreach program. Pray for open homes and safe opportunities for these orphaned children! They need to feel God's love! Pray for healing in this entire country. There is so much physical suffering and loss, and still a huge separation between the whites and the blacks.

7/29: Today we went to the Millennium House, which is an orphanage for children under the age 10. Mostly infants and toddlers. Some are sick with HIV or lost parents due to it. The women that work there become exhausted so once a week, a team from the YWAM base goes out to love on the children and play, so that the women are able to rest. These children are absolutely adorable and love to be held! Many of there stories are horrific. One child was found on the railroad tracks, covered in dirt at the age of 1 month. Another at 4 months was taken from the home because the mother was insane and trying to kill her. Most of the time there are not enough workers for the children, so the time they get to be held can be short. They all cried when we left. It was heart breaking!! Please pray for these children in the Millennium House.