It's Me Again!

Caroline here.  And I am falling behind on this whole blogging thing because Laura is way faster than me...haha!  Aren't you supposed to be on S. Africa time or somthing like that? :-P

Anyway,  I just got sorted on the whole India Visa thing...I think.  I will mail out the application tomorrow and find out.  Just thought I would throw in a little update.

Oh, and the really wierd thing is that, Laura said that she was sick all Saturday, right?  Oddly enough, I felt really lead to pray and pray hard for her health on Sunday.  So, I know I prayed at least three times for just her health...and this was before I knew she was sick...weird huh?

Peace and Grace,
Caroline

Ok, time for a real update. It’s so hard to decide what to write. There’s so much and it’s overwhelming to try to figure out what to say. Sometimes I stop and wonder if I’m really here. I’ve wanted to come for so long, it almost seems unreal.

Our water was fixed! I have to admit that I’ve learned to highly (emphasis!) value hot showers! When you take your hot shower tonight or tomorrow morning, really enjoy it and remember what a precious gift it is.

Here in South Africa, it’s winter. The nights and mornings are freezing cold, but it tends to warm up nicely by the middle of the day. (Although, the South Africans will tell you it’s still cold.) The sky here is amazing! I wish you could see it! At night, the sky is so dark and deep and the stars are so bright! And during the day, the sky just seems so big and so high and so very blue! It’s absolutely beautiful. The land reminds me of California a little bit. (Which makes me so happy!) There’s dirt, and brush that is brown and deep green, and I can’t feel any humidity. I love it!

Ok, so for my adventure at The Glen. It was nice. It looked similar to an American mall, except it was like all the types of stores you can think of in one place. There were clothing stores, fast food and nice restaurants, grocery stores, and a bank. The prices were very affordable. There were definitely some South African brands of various products. My favorite thing to do when shopping in an ethnic grocery store is to find something that is so unfamiliar that I can’t even guess what it is, except that I can eat it. I didn’t do that this time since we were in a rush, but I definitely saw some things that I’ll probably check out next time.

Saturday I got pretty sick. I was throwing up all day. I ended up taking a few hours off just to lay down… and throw up some more. Definately NOT my favorite day ever. But it lasted only a day and I felt like myself again on Sunday.

Today another girl and I had to go to the police station to sign some papers. On the way back, we stopped at McDonalds. It felt really good to have something so familiar.

Those are all my adventures for the moment. Wednesday is my next day off and I would like to see if I can find any nearby flea markets...

Poe Family, there's two things I've been saving to tell you all about. :) First, we’ve had pop twice since I’ve been here! It made me think of you all. I was so happy!

Mrs. Poe and Eli, remember when you showed me the cereal in the shape of bars? Well I went into the kitchen on Friday to get something to eat and I saw them and thought they were granola bars. I bit into it and felt so silly! Haha!

Laura

Monday, May 23rd
Today's my day off!! This past week has been crazy, but good. I get up every day a little after 5am and start work by 6. We get the babies up and change their "nappies" and give them breakfast. During the day we play with them, read to them, encourage them to crawl or walk or say words (depending on their age). There are a LOT of nappy changes! Our day ends at 7, after we've put the babies to bed. The volunteers are ususally in bed by 8:30. That might seem really early, but by the end of the day, we're pretty tired.
I'm doing pretty well. Adjusting was difficult at first. There are a lot of small details to keep in mind when caring for the babies. And certainly a lot of names to remember. There're also words I had to get used to, like nappy or dummy (a pacifier). Most of the volunteers are international. There're people from England, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, and the U.S. So far I've had a room to myself, but next week I'm getting a roommate from Australia. I'm pretty excited to meet her. Since it's my day off, I'm going with another girl to The Glen. I'm under the impression that it's like a mall. I'd like to try some African food, and I'd also like to get a portable heater for my room since it gets freezing cold in the mornings.
A prayer request would be for the water to start working in our cottage again. It's been off since the night before I arrived. It actually hasn't been that bad. A drizzle of water will come from the sink and I've been able to wash my hair a few times, but it would be really nice to have a proper shower again. (That's another word used here- "proper")
I hope everyone's doing well!!
-Laura
P.S. I've attatched a pic of the cottage I live in. It's called "Calli."

In Preparation for India

Well, Laura is off to S. Africa...and I am here still preparing funds for India.

I am currently selling Necklaces/Bracelets/Anklets that I got from the non-profit Necklaces for Change.  They are $5.00 and half the money goes to my fundraising and the other half goes to an orphanage in Mosambique.  If you are interested just leave me a comment!



Check them out if you would like at http://www.necklacesforchange.com

Grace and Peace,

Caroline

In South Africa

Hey! Just wanted to let you all know I made it to S. Africa safely. The flight from NY to here was about 14.5 hrs, but it didn't really seem that long. I'm tired, though! Johannesburg itself looks very similar to a typical N. American city, but the scenery changes once you begin to leave the actual city. I'm living in a really cute, yellow cottage. As of now, I have my own room, but I'll probably have a roommate by next month. I got a quick tour of everything, there's so much to see! I think that's all I'll write for now, I'm too tired to think. Hope you all are doing well! Please keep me in your prayers.

Laura

 

I can't believe we graduated today! It's almost unreal. And in just a few hours, I'll be headed to the airport to fly to South Africa!! I want to thank everyone for being such an amazing help and encouragement as I've prepared for this trip. I truly value your prayers and ask that you continue to remember and pray for me. My plane will leave tomorrow (Tuesday) at 6am NC time and I'll be landing in Johannesburg, South Africa on Wednesday at 8:35am S. African time (about 2:35am for my NC friends and 11:35pm for my Cali fam and friends). I'll try to send updates when I can. If you'd like to reach me directly, my e-mail is laura.tlc.org.za.

I can't wait to share my adventures with you all!

 

In HIs Hands, Laura