Our Team Slideshow

Bart put this together for us. Thank you so much, Bart!!

Our Last Day at The Pines

We're in our final hours here at The Pines. It's been an experience that is almost indescribable. We've experienced so much here. We've learned so much from The O'Tools and the Niehoff's, from the other people we've met here, and from each other. Every second of this trip has been an adventure and we're sad to see it end. It's been a tradition with most teams to go out to dinner on their last night here, but we've gotten so attached to the kids and wanted to spend every second we could with them so we decided to all pitch in for a big pizza party instead. Chris was pretty intent on getting some KFC too, just in case the pizza wasn't so good. Luckily for us Americans, the pizza was awesome and we got to have chicken too:) The kids absolutely loved all of it! We had the pizza, the chicken, twiggles (which are basically cheese puffs), soda, and homemade cookies that Jan made. It was a kid's dream meal! And trust us, these kids can eat!

After devotionals this morning, we got right to work on trying to finish all of our projects. All in all, we accomplished A LOT while we were here. Here's the projects we worked on...

• Painted the kitchen and living room in one of the boys' flats.
• Built a fence for the toddler play area.
• Scraped and painted both of the soccer goal posts. (A big job!)
• Tore down and built another wall in the laundry/bathroom upstairs for the kids
• Painted a room at the hospital
• Painted a team mural upstairs in the hallway leading to the activity room
• Organized the chapel full of donated items
• Organized all of the clothing that's been donated in the closet upstairs, as well as all of the shoes.
• Built an addition on Louie and Amber's flat. It's storage, plus a bedroom for Meredith, and a bathroom. (This one is not 100% completed but it's very close, probably 85% complete.)
• Painted Meredith's new bedroom. (90% complete. Just up near the ceilings to finish.)
• Built a heater for the swimming pool.

We've had so much fun since we've been here. We've been laughing the entire time as you can tell by all of our funny stories. We've gotten the chance to get out and visit some of the people here in South Africa and we've still managed to get a lot of projects completed. Our team really came together. Most of us had never met before our first team meeting, so it was amazing to see why God chose each one of us for the trip. He clearly had a plan. All of the men were so knowledgable in construction that they had no problem tackling any projects Brian could come up with. Steve was our spiritual leader. He answered our questions, stayed up late at night talking with us and offering us biblical advice. Each one of the guys were such good role models for the children. They worked hard and they played hard. Julie was here to be the mother. She was organized and on top of things starting even before we left the states. She was also here to connect with Amber and Lois. Wynde and Robin both spent a lot of time with the children building them up and supporting them. They also were very instrumental in making sure we had meals on the table and kept the whole team running. Jamey was here to blog, stay on top of downloading photographs, and generally be the record-keeper for our trip. Each one of the women adapted to whatever came our way that day.

We were all blessed by getting to spend so much time with the children and that's what has changed our hearts the most. The children are so full of life and joy and they are inspiring. Each one of them has a heartbreaking story that has brought them here, but they seem to have a deep understanding that God loves them and their appreciation overflows.

We are all in awe of the Niehoff's and the O'Tools. They've each opened their homes and their hearts this week and it means a lot to us. They have impressed us with their parenting skills and have inspired us with their faith. Brian and Louie have made us laugh non-stop! Amber and Lois always have an open door and have been here supporting us 24/7.

We'll never forget the 21 little faces we came to love here or the new friends we've made. We'll never forget the sadness, the sickness, and the poverty we've seen in the community. We'll never forget how people's faces lit up when the "Americans" came to visit and help them. We'll never forget how good it felt to go to sleep at night having finished so many projects. And we'll never forget who made this all possible, our Creator. God has given each of us so much to be thankful for and we end this trip with our hearts full of gratitude and praise. Through Him all things are possible and this trip is our testimony to that.

For God so Loved the world that he gave His one and Only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16

Thanks be to God!

Funny Stories We Forgot to Post

#1: Apparently it's a rule that you're not allowed to tell other people's stories as if they are your own stories especially if they are sitting in the same room. Brian made that rule and Louie just found out about it. For the record, it was Brian and Lois on the flight with the screaming baby, not Louie. And it was Louie's family that ate the cereal that fell off the train, not Brian.

#2: There is now a dent in the roof of the convey/van that resembles Chris's head. Even though Brian drives these roads all the time, speed bumps can just sneak up on you.

#3: While plastic and glass are very valuable here, regardless of what Brian trys to tell Jamey, the armed guards are guarding the money, not the glass and plastic. She fell for that one.

#4: We spent days building a fence for the toddlers. So far, the geese Troy had to buy are the only two "toddlers" to use it. It's protecting them from being eaten by the dogs. And why wouldn't the dogs want to eat them, they are named Potjieko and Bobooti.

#5: Troy has a habit of walking the halls in the middle of night in his boxers, much to the surprise of the two women who have recently joined us. (Sally is the Ambassador's director and Jan and her husband are Pines supporters and visitors).

#6: Thankfully we did not get stuck in the mines because we had a detailed discussion on who would be eaten first. Unfortunately for Wynde she was the appetizer. But Brian and Chris, who have the most meat on their bones were voted the main course.

#7: We all found out the other night that Wynde comes from a family of ventriliquists. Oh wait... evangelists. It's easy to get those mixed up.

#8: "Mind the Gap" has been coming up since we got here. We're thinking about printing t-shirts when we get home. The shirts will come in long and extra long. We've already ordered Robin an extra long.

#9: Things Brian has tried to convince Jamey of: Some hybrid chickens have six wings. The purple things that come from a mulberry tree are grapes.

#10: While Robin was blowing her nose in the van, Bart was feverishly looking for the water main break. He honestly did NOT know it was her blowing her nose. Clearly he misses his job back home.

#11: We have a faithful blog reader, Kenny Rogers. He and his horse Keith are planning to cross the Atlantic together and come to South Africa. They will be the only person/horse team to ever accomplish that. Robin would like to email Kenny Rogers back and see if we can meet when we get home and she thinks it's great that he's interested in our trip.

As you can see, there have been a lot of funny stories since we've been here. Somehow Julie and Steve managed to escape the embarrassment the rest of us endured. But we're still thinking of all the funny moments and I'm sure we'll remember something.

Our Time Here is Winding Down

Tomorrow will be our last full day here at The Pines and we spent today feverishly trying to finish up our projects. Wynde, Julie, Robin, and Jamey worked on our team mural in the hallway upstairs. We decided to paint a mural that looks very similar to the room we painted at the hospital. We'll post a photo tomorrow after it's completed. Chris, Bart, and Steve all worked like crazy on the addition that we're doing for Amber and Louis's flat. All that we really have left to do as far as construction is finish the trim and the doors and maybe some plumbing/fixtures in the bathroom. Jamey and Louis spent a good part of the afternoon painting Meredith's new bedroom two lovely shades of pink. We let her choose the colors and she has a fabulous eye for a three year old:) Wynde and Julie are still upstairs right now painting pink and white polka dots on the walls. It's looking very cute! We should be able to finish up the whole project tomorrow. That's our goal anyway. Troy spent a ton of time today working on finishing the goal posts for the kids' soccer field and he also started building a brick firepit/box kind of thing by the pool that tomorrow will become a heat converter so they can heat the pool. (It might be hot here, but the water in the pool is always FREEZING!) Robin has been our most dedicated cook and has made sure that we haven't gone hungry. She's more than answered her call to chef duty and our whole team is VERY appreciative! She's spent a lot of time with the kids too and has been the "homework queen" this week.

Tomorrow night for our last night here the team decided to host a GIANT pizza party for the kids, the house mothers, the O'Tools, the Niehoffs, and some of the high school kids we've met. We're ordering enough pizza for 50 people so it should be a really fun time! We'll write and tell you all about it tomorrow night.

Good night and God Bless from South Africa. We'll see you soon!

Helping at the Hospital

Yesterday while we were at the hospital, one of the nurses asked if any of us would have time to come back and work on a project for them. Wynde, Bart, and Jamey went back today and painted a playroom for them. We picked out all the colors, came up with the design, and executed the whole thing today. We started this morning around 8 and we finished up at 7ish. We took a two hour break in the afternoon to go to the bible study Louis hosted at the high school, but after that we finished up the detail work and put on the finishing touches. It was so much fun and we were so thrilled with the final product. Check out the photo of the grand finale! Since you can't really see the photograph up close, it's blue up top, green on the bottom, and a wavy line in the middle with different colored shapes. We also put John 3:16 up on the wall and painted The Pines logo and phone number. The kids and the nurses kept peeking in and saying how beautiful they thought it was and how much they liked it. It was such a great feeling! Another mission accomplished here in South Africa! (We'll work on getting a photo posted!)

#7

Be honest with yourself and think about how much time and effort you have put into picking just the right paint colors for your home, just the right furniture, just the right picture frames, dishes, tablecloths, and so on. Now imagine that every single item including the bricks to build your home have to be found or stolen and must be collected and carried a long way back to where you live. That's what it would be like if you lived at #7. It's unbelievable. #7 is a squatter's camp that's right up the road from The Pines. We visited there yesterday and brought some candy and toys for the children. Many of the people who live there are from another part of Africa and are not allowed government support or access to live in the villages because they are not South African citizens. They have basically formed their own community (or campsite) and have built semi-permanent structures for homes. There is NO running water (which means no sink and no toilet), NO electricity, NO heat or air conditioning, NO lights. They are mostly brick or metal shanties, some nicer ones with beds and carpet squares on the floor, some with not much of anything. It all depends on how ambitious the owner is to go out and collect things.

Since they are not allowed to get jobs in town or government assistance because they are not from South Africa, it's understandable how they wound up living there. But it's frustrating to see how dirty the children are and see that they need more to eat and all the while we see their parents drinking alcohol and not doing much other than sitting around. How do they get money to buy alcohol or food you ask... They return plastic like the people from the dump or they steal copper wire from all over the countryside near where they live and sell it for money, they may have an odd job here or there, or who knows what else. They are able to survive somehow. But let us stress, it's surviving, not thriving. Some of the children do attend school, which is very good. Hopefully they'll be able to find a way out of this environment one day, but until then please pray for their safety and their health. It's vitally important. We're trying to share as much of our experience as we can with you and in as much detail as possible so that you'll feel what we feel when we see these places. When you see #7 how can you not feel thankful for all that you've been given. In the US, even the people who are living in poverty are among the wealthiest people in the world. Until you come here and see it for yourself it doesn't seem true, but it is. I know that each one of us on this team, feel like millionaires compared to these people and it has given us a whole new appreciation for all that we have and it reminds us that everything belongs to God and he's trusting us to make most of His resources.

Blessings From Welkom - South Africa,

Team 8

Visiting the Hospital

Yesterday afternoon we went to a public hospital and visited the sick children. There are two sides to the children's wing. One side is for children who are very sick with AIDS, TB, and other illnesses and the other side is for children who have broken bones or other less complicated types of problems. We took some coloring books and crayons that Lois put together and some beanie babies, dolls, matchbox cars, and candy that we brought with us from the States. Steve brought along his Polaroid camera too and we took some photos of the kids that we let them keep. In the side where the children are very sick we could tell they were happy to see us, but many of them didn't have the energy to really sit up or get excited. It was tough to see some of the kids who were very skinny and much smaller than other kids their age. There was a five month old baby who looked maybe a month old. Liam is 5 months old and he was easily three times the size of this sick little one. Some of them were on breathing machines and most of them just felt so rotten that we couldn't even get a smile out of them. On the other side of the wing though, the children were thrilled to see us and very happy to have visitors bearing gifts! Most of them are not so sick that they have to stay in bed all day and are able to get up and sit in a playroom and color or play with small toys. (We thought it was very strange that here in South Africa if you break a bone, you stay in the hospital for a week. There were lots of children with broken bones on the not-so-sick side.) It must be terribly boring for them at the hospital and we were so happy to bring them some activity and excitement. The photos were a very big hit with both groups for different reasons. The children who weren't feeling too bad were excited to see photos of themselves and smile for the camera and the very ill children had mother's with them who were happy to get a photo with their child as it may be one of the only photos they ever have with their children. It's very sad.

We've had a chance to see a lot since we've been in South Africa. We've gotten to see the complete picture of what it's like here, why it's like this, and what the needs are. Of course we don't have all or (maybe any) of the answers, but we're starting to be able to fit the puzzle together. We've seen the mine where all the miners are working and where HIV really began to spread. We've seen some of the villages and the dump where they are all living below poverty in tight spaces with little to no food and water. We've seen the children at Morning Star who are all HIV positive. We've seen the children at the hospital who are sick. And we've seen the cemetary where hundreds of children are buried each month. While there is a lot of devastation and things to be sad about here, we've also heard the laughter of the children here at The Pines. We've seen the children at Morning Star sing their little hearts out. We've seen the women at Morning Star who make the embroidered items beaming with pride when we purchase the things they've made. We've seen the children in the villages go crazy to be in photographs and meet the "Americans". And we've seen children at the hospital smile and be excited even when they feel crummy because we've brought them something as small as a coloring book and some candy. There might be a lot of poverty and sickness here, but there's also a lot of gratitude and appreciation when you show them you care. That gratitude has made this trip very special to each one of us. We would have been happy to come and help these people regardless, but when you see how thankful they are it makes it all the more worth it.

Praise God!