Hello, hello! I hope everyone is having a great labor day and didn’t have to work/go to school! Unfortunately South Africa doesn’t celebrate Labor Day rather they just constantly leave early and that sort of thing! Sometimes no news is good news, so I am happy to say nothing crazy has happened in the last week! 

Kids club last week went quite smoothly. One kid flicked me off because he couldn’t sit next to me and another brought a pocket knife, but when I asked if he could put it away he did it without hesitation. (This little boy was one of the nicer ones so I knew he wasn’t going to use it on anyone, I just didn’t want someone else to take it and use it!) So yeah, fairy successful on that front! 

Treswill has started a feeding program for the kids in the nearby flats/community. Most of these kids don’t eat breakfast so it is a great thing to give them some energy before a long day at school. Thursday was the first early wake for the program. (6:30 ahh!) Porridge was served to 20-30 kids, it was great! Most of the kids ate till they were stuffed (which wasn’t that much) and then saved the rest for lunch. Since they never really get full meals, they just constantly snack on candy and chips, their stomachs weren’t used to all the food. 

This weekend we had a lot of chill time to watch movies and chill. Casey, Michael, and I went on a 9 mile run. (Haven’t run that long in awhile!) The temperature was only like 60 degrees so it was perfect. A bunch of neighborhood kids wanted to run with us, they are crazy! It just proves how desperate they are for attention and they want to get energy out! Maybe I will start running around the block with them, it’ll give us all something constructive to do! 

Today, I went to Kleinburg primary school for after school soccer. A third grader that lives a few houses down from me came. He is so funny, he gets a new puppy like every week (no joke!) and he’ll come show them to me because he knows I love them. Since most of the boys at the afterschool practice are a few years older than him, me and him passed back and forth and we worked on volleys and headers. When it came time to play a little game, I could tell he was itching to get in with the older boys. I told Treswill to let him play. Kid you not, my boy was the leading scorer lol. Granted the other boys set him up nicely but he did really well being years younger and a foot shorter, so that was exciting to see! The best part was that you could just tell that he felt like a million bucks. 

Today also was a milestone. It was the first in-home care morning. I was kind of excited about it. The first few houses were fine. I helped take blood pressure and we talked a bit about how to lower it, healthy foods to eat, little exercises, that sort of thing. The next few homes were a bit more dramatic. I had to pray to keep from vomiting on the floor. I feel bad saying it, we will all be old someday, but old people nakedness for bathing and diaper changes are totally out of my element. All the caregivers out there that have to do it, major props. Sores and fungus toenails are gross to. I’m a terrible person for saying all this, but yeah all of that was such a humbling experience. I hope no one is eating while reading this! I feel for the people lying in the bed though. My grandma Higgins died last November. While it was super sad, I am almost relieved that God took her back when he did before she was bed ridden for the rest of her life. A few days before I left for South African, a few of us had a talk regarding death when people are at such fragile states. While it is easy to say, “I hope I am never stuck in a bed with people having to bathe me,” my grandpa Cunningham made a great point. He said that God is keeping you on Earth for a reason, even if you are just laying in a bed. If nothing else, the people I saw today have taught me a lesson about compassion and humility, and even though I am still grossed out, I am glad for the enlightenment. 

A very interesting thing, however, were the condition of the houses. Some houses were nice. Some were held together by cardboard, roof caving in, and flies flying around. It makes you so grateful for what you have. 

Almost halfway through this crazy adventure! Love you all and miss you!