Monday, April 9. 2007…Dream Girls

So today was movie day with Brenda, Abigail, and Emma. We went and saw Dream Girls…first of all it was great to be able to relax with a movie, but with Dream Girls it was fantastic. I just love the dancing and music…just all in all a relaxing day.

Tuesday, April 10. 2007…Dress Day

Today Abigail and I got to try on wedding and bridesmaid dresses with Gloria, Vigi, and Bussi. Gloria (pastors wife) is starting a wedding dress and bridesmaid dress rental business. One to promote marriage as well as allow women to walk down that aisle in the most beautiful dress they could ever imagine. So a woman from the States sent over 10 wedding dresses and about 20 bridesmaid dresses to get her company up and going. We had the privilege of putting them on to model for the soon to be catalog. It was so much fun they just kept on getting more and more beautiful! Also, Gloria that night asked me to be a bridesmaid in her and Pas. Vincents wedding! So looks like I will be back in October for a week. Gloria and Pas. Vincent got married like 20 years ago the traditional African way but not the “legal” way, so now they are going to be married “legally”. So Ladies if you have a wedding dress or a bridesmaid dress that you will never wear again and want to see it be used for a good cause this would be a great way to help. Just simply let me know that you are interested in donating the dress to Gloria’s new business and take care of getting it there.

Wednesday, April 11. 2007…Sundowns Win Again

So the Sundowns (Mamelodi Soccer Team) have by far become my most favorite soccer team in the entire world. Really bold statement I know but seriously they are amazing. We went to our second match today…this one was for the regional cup…and you better believe in the last 2 minutes they won with their second goal…gosh it was a nail biter but we pulled through in the end.

I wear my jersey proudly around on game days and I always get people running up to me because they can’t believe a white girl is wearing a Sundowns jersey (white people here are more rugby fans than soccer fans). So then when I do the Sundowns hand sign and say their slogan, “the sky is the limit.” They then know I am for real and start laughing. People are so shocked by it that even at the match they will bust out their cameras and take pics of Abigail and I…we just laugh.

Thursday, April 12. 2007…Women’s Fellowship

We just hired a new pastor at Powerhouse and his wife is a social worker in Mamelodi. Needless to say I wanted to really get to know her. So today Abigail and I had some great vanilla custard with Anicky (Pastor Temba’s wife) while chatting about the children’s home that Powerhouse will be building. She had great advice as to how to go about starting and doing it. She will be very helpful in the surveying of the area that I have to do for the proposal of the children’s home for the government. Most of all I just enjoyed being around her and hearing her heart for Mamelodi.

Friday, April 13.2007…Farewell Mohau/Hello Brenda

Today was really hard for me as I said good bye to a great staff and some amazing children. The morning was easy as I just had meetings to attend to and go over my evaluation with my supervisors…but the afternoon when the children returned from school I started to say goodbye one by one and it only got harder and harder. My girl who proved to be the most challenging at the beginning and was the girl that was involved in all the sexual activity in the house was the hardest to say goodbye to. She has made so much progress and I am so proud of her and her willingness to change no matter how hard it was for her. We sat for along time discussing how much she had changed and how she hasn’t had any sexual incidents since we had our first talk. We then read her favorite book, Sleeping Beauty, and after that she walked me to the door. Saying, “see you tomorrow.” She is clearly in denial that I am really leaving…I cried the whole way home cause I would like to be there for her and for the others and see them walk through the doors of Mohau telling me goodbye as they walk into the arms of their family or to a job or university.

This evening we (Gabe, Rach, Abigail, and I) took Brenda to Dros (nice restaurant in South Africa) for a celebration and farewell Abigail dinner. Since we got here Brenda has told us her story about her past year of life and what a struggle it has been for her…and throughout this time we have seen how faithful she has been to Powerhouse as their unpaid secretary and what an AMAZING friend she has been to each one of us. We also know that it is a dream of hers to go to the States one day. So tonight we surprised her with a roundtrip ticket to the States for a month to come and visit us. I have never seen her speechless but for about 5 min. she couldn’t talk. Next April she will be arriving in the States and I am so excited to show her around and have her meet all my friends and family!

Saturday, April 14. 2007…Debrief with Vincent

Today I debriefed with Vincent as to how this trip went for him and suggestions he had for me for the future of Africa Revolution. Let me just tell you that I could sit at the feet of this man for hours to seek wise counsel. Seriously, any question I brought up he had an insightful well thought out answer and it was biblical. I don’t even know how he does it…I think it is a testament as to how much he is in the bible daily. Anyways, he was very encouraging and very honest with me as to future endeavors for me and AR.

Sunday, April 15. 2007…Last Service/See Annie and Allan for the first time

This morning in service I gave my testimony about the time that I have spent here…I talked about Heaven and how in Mark 6 we pray, Thy kingdom come on Earth as it is in Heaven, and how Powerhouse has been a slice of what Heaven is. Then I went on to talk about how at the beginning of my trip there was an incident that made me want to go home…but due to my passport being taken I couldn’t and if I would’ve gone home I would’ve never experienced….then listed all of my favorite things about my time with Powerhouse. Later on in the service Pas. Vincent called me back to the front to have the church pray for me. First of all he prayed in his native tongue which made me so mad cause I was like hey if you are prophesying over my life I would like to know what you are saying secondly he said this, “whatever you succeed in we succeed in.” This was profound for me cause I have been battling with a big decision and in that instant it all became really clear! Once again this man is so wise…do you see what I am saying…if only we could all follow him around 24/7 this world would be such a better place.

Also we got to attend Annie and Allan’s family braii to welcome them to South Africa. It was really great to see them on this side. Can’t believe they are married…too crazy for me to comprehend.