Today was our last day in the community. We left the Hands Village full of excitement to spend time in the community but also with sadness that it would be "see you later" for a while! On arrival at the Care Point we were greeted warmly and the team set of to assist in the various chores; chopping, cooking, washing of dishes, shovelling sand and watering the vegetables.
Following on from yesterday, Ethan and Matthew arrived to collect money (40 rand) for their taxi ride to and from the clinic. We were pleased that they had remembered to go and prayed that they would be seen quickly and that the "lab" team will be back at work. A few hours later they returned with some good news. They had been seen and handed in their urine samples which had gone off to be tested. Matthew had also been given some anti-histamines as he had been feeling itchy. They needed to return next week for the outcome of their tests.
We had lots planned for our last day in the community. In the morning, we were going to encourage and pamper the Care Workers before hosting a children's afternoon. After our chores, we gathered inside the Care point for worship, praising God and a time of encouragement for the Care Workers. Lesley shared an encouragement around Psalm 121. The particular points that stood out to the Care Workers were;
- To look up to the Lord in all that you do - especially looking to the South African Hills that surround the community
- He will give you strength and power and be your constant guide
- They particular liked Lesley's analogy of God being like the mother hen. She recalled that we have seen lots of hens with their chicks during our time in South Africa and how a mother hen collects her hens and keeps them safe under her wings and this is the same as Jesus wants for us.
After Lesley's encouragement we moved into a time of pampering for the Care Workers! We poured out cups of coke, picked our choice of lotion and begun to massage their feet and hands before painting them lots of different colours. The ladies particularly enjoyed facials by Lesley! They had such an amazing time, they were full of joy and smiles and they were the happiest we have ever seen them! They were so very thankful that they sang and danced for us and got us all up and joining in, it was hilarious but so fantastic to see!
Next up was a long wait for the children to arrive! In this time we had the most delicious lunch - rice, chicken pieces and beetroot, it was so good that all of our plates were empty. Finally the children arrived in the masses. It was children's day so we had lots of games planned. We played Impala, Impala, Lion and parachute games and several ball games.
Before the children had their lunch we handed out the friendship bracelets that the children from Edward Peake School had made for them. They were very thankful and enjoyed going around swapping and comparing the charms that they had. After lunch we played some ceilidh music for them to dance to - they absolutely loved it and went CRAZY! the addition of balloons just created mayhem! but everyone had fun and we were all really sad to say our goodbyes.
After our "see you laters", we set off for home via Tambo Hospital. Patricia and Dan popped into speak to someone about medicated the children at Siyathuthuka from the water borne disease we mentioned yesterday. Unfortunately the CEO was not in but Dan was able to obtain the number to give him a call. After dinner we walked up to Herman and Charissa for tea and pudding.
Blogged by Alice P and Claire
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