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!