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!

Morning Star

We got to go to Morning Star Daycare Center this morning and it was such a cool experience. It's a Christian daycare facility for HIV positive children. In order to attend, they must each test positive for the disease.

The children are fetched each morning and brought to the center. They are so happy when they arrive that they literally come bursting through the doors! We saw it first hand, it's true. Once they arrive, the children are washed up and provided with clean clothing. They are then fed a healthy breakfast of porridge and african tea. After breakfast they brush their teeth and then have devotional and prayer time. The children are so well behaved, you wouldn't believe it! They all (including the babies in high chairs) bow their head to pray before they take a single bite of food. During devotional time they sing their little hearts out. (Check out the top photo.) It's so cute! We have some video of them singing we'll try to get it posted for you. It will melt your heart!!

It's so hard to believe that these children are sick. We saw at least 75 children this morning and only one of them was visibly ill. They all seem to be thriving, which is such a blessing! And a true testimony to the power of God who is at work in their lives and in the lives of the women who care for them at Morning Star. Unfortunately not all of the children who attend make it and they have a wall in the facility dedicated to remembering the ones who have died. (The middle photo is the Memory Wall. We also have a photo of the picture collage.) That was kind of difficult for us to swallow. How could these tiny, little innocent children be so sick and dying? It just doesn't seem fair. It was not their fault that were born with this disease and yet they're carrying on the legacy of their parents' problems.

Thank goodness for the wonderful people who started and sustain this program at Morning Star. Thanks to them a lot of children who may be starving and dying at home in their villages have the opportunity to be cared for and thrive. It was so much fun to be there with the children and see how joyful they are. They are just like any other child around the world. They want to be healthy and play and have fun and be loved. That's it. Not much to ask. They have really inspired us today to do all that we can to help the next generation here in South Africa be the best they can be under the circumstances they've been given.

Another part of Morning Star is a work program for some of the mothers and grandmothers called Tshedisanang - Women's Project. They have been taught to sew and do embroidery and they create the most beautiful works of art. (The bottom photo is a wall covering of the creation story.) We all had the opportunity to purchase bags, aprons, pillow covers, napkins, jewelry, wall coverings, and more. The profits from the program are divided 70/30. The woman who created the piece gets to keep 70% of the sale and 30% goes back to the program to purchase more supplies and keep the program going. We bought quite a bit this morning, so I'd say that Team 8 did a pretty good job in supporting the program:)

We'll be going to the hospital in just a bit to visit the children there. We'll write more later and let you all know what we experience.

Happiness and Hugs from Team 8!

Day 6 at The Pines

We have accomplished lots of work today! The girls spent the day baking cakes, grocery shopping, organizing the closet with all of the clothing donations, and preparing food. The men have started getting the toddler fence put in the ground, building the addition to Louis and Amber's flat, and prepping and painting the goal posts. They also took a trip into town to go the lumber yard and the bank. We're all getting pretty cozy here at The Pines and are starting to really feel at home. It's so much fun having something happening 24/7 around here. There's always work to do or kids to play with or people to talk to. We really want to finish everything on the list that Brian said he would like us to work on. In fact, it's 9:45pm here and Chris and Troy are still upstairs working on Louis and Amber's flat. They managed to the whole thing framed today and right before dinner they had a good majority of the drywall up. Our team has four really talented men who are all very knowledgable in construction and it's been unbelievable watching them work. The women have all really enjoyed doing the shopping and the cooking and the painting and playing with the kids. We've spent a lot of time with Meredith and Liam and Drake too, which has been great. (For those of you who don't know, those are the Niehoff and the O'Tool children.)

What a blessing this trip has been to all of us. We love the work we're doing and feel so lucky to be experiencing all of this. Blessings to you all.

Happy Birthday Lehlohonolo!

Today was Lehlohonolo's 12th birthday and we had a party for him in the activity room at 1pm today. We baked cakes and the house mother's decorated the table and hung some balloons. The kids were all excited for cake and ice cream and Lehlohonolo was excited for the presents! He got some great new clothes from his sponsor in the US, plus a cool t-shirt from one of the Point of Grace teens who just visited over the summer, the team got him a new tape measure because he loves working with Uncle Brian, and The Pines got him a new skateboard! He was so cute when Brian asked him if he's gotten everything he wanted and whether he had enough presents, he said "Yes, Oh yes." and Brian said "OK then, I guess you don't want the other one we have here. You said you've gotten enough gifts" and Lehlohonolo was so polite he just said "Yes, it's good", but you could tell he really wanted to see the other gift. The skateboard was the one he hadn't opened yet. It was a pretty great birthday and a fun party. We were excited to share in the fun with him! He's such a great kid and a very hard worker. The guys have nicknamed him "Lucky" because none of them can pronounce his name. He wasn't so fond of the nickname at first, but once we told him that lucky meant something similar to blessed, he seemed to be OK with it. The guys are really gonna miss the extra set of hands tomorrow when he has to go back to school. Today was the last day of the kids' spring holiday.

Day 5 at The Pines

Yesterday morning everyone from The Pines went to church. The church is a small school room in a housing development called Reahola and it's not far from The Pines. We were all VERY impressed by the children because the second they walked in the door, they starting leading each other in singing and didn't have to be prompted at all. (Lois says they may have been showing off a bit for the visitors, but regardless... it was cool!) Once we got started, Louis and Amber led us all in a few more songs and then Amber and some of the team members took the little ones under 1st grade out for Sunday School, while Louis stayed back and taught the older children. We learned the old testament story of Ehud and to be honest I'm not sure how many of us had heard that story before. Louis is an excellent teacher and kept us all on the edge of our seats. We were so surprised by how much the children know about the bible. They go to a private Christian school, but most of the knowledge seems to come from the O'Tools and the Niehoff's. They are doing such a great job with the children! We could all learn a ton from them about parenting and teaching. It's very inspiring. (We use that word a lot around here!) After the children's service, a few more adults from the complex came in and we started the regular church service. The children all came back in and sat down and total there were probably about 50 of us in attendance. We sang some hymns accapella and the preacher preached from Matthew 12. The service was all in English but during the sermon there was a Sutu translator. It took a bit to get used to hearing a couple of sentences in English and then a pause and the same sentences in Sutu. We were all bummed to miss the last couple of lessons on "Identity Theft" at Point of Grace, but we really enjoyed our church experience in South Africa. It was definitely different than what we're used to. No lights, no band, no Jeff, no Tom, no cupholders. But it was great reminder that church isn't about any of those things... it's all about Jesus.

After church, we came back to The Pines and grilled out a wonderful lunch of BBQ chicken. A couple of the High School boys from church came back and had lunch with us and played with the kids. They were all great guys with huge hearts for God and seem to all be very gifted leaders. We were excited to meet them. We had Troy's baptism after lunch and then we spent the rest of the afternoon playing with the kids. Wynde was teaching the girls (and Bart and Steve) how to make friendship bracelets. A few of them really got into, which was fun. Later in the early evening, the team went to Brian and Lois's flat to watch a video called "Indescribable", which we would love to show you all when we get home! After the video they showed us some pictures of the renovations that have gone on at The Pines and some photos of the children when they first arrived. Some of them are almost unrecognizable, they look so different now! After that we had a dinner thanks to Julie who prepared some cheesy cornbread and some awesome Chicken Tortilla soup. We got a little surprise after dinner in the form of a thunderstorm. It hasn't rained here since April, so it was cool that we got to be here when it finally rained!

We have had so much fun so far and can already tell that this last week is going to fly by. We have a lot of projects we'd still like to accomplish before we go, so we're praying for a very fun and productive week. We miss you all and pray that you are doing well back at home. We'll see you in a little under a week.

With all our Love - Steve, Chris, Bart, Troy, Wynde, Robin, Julie, and Jamey

Troy's Baptism

Yesterday afternoon after church and lunch, we all got together to witness a very memorable day in Troy's life. He was baptized in the pool at The Pines by Louis and everyone gathered around to be a part of it. The children and their house mothers sang South African praise songs and Louis gave a short sermon about what it means to be baptized. He explained that Troy has not been saved because he's baptized, but rather because he has professed that he believes Jesus in the Son of God and he asked Jesus to come into his heart to be his Savior and the leader of his life. God asks that we be baptized as a public profession of faith to show the world that we have chosen to follow Jesus Christ. It was a wonderful learning experience for the children, most of whom have never seen a baptism. They had dozens of questions and comments afterwards and we're all hoping that Troy has inspired them to make their public profession of faith and be baptized as well. The children here have an amazing faith in God and it's really inpiring to each one of us.

Congratulations to Troy and thank you so much for the blessing of letting us share this very special experience with you.

Dinner with the Kids

We all shared a WONDERFUL dinner tonight at the Pines! The kids, their house mothers, the team, Brian and Lois, Amber and Louis, and their families all got together for a South African meal called Potjieko. We had both chicken and beef and it basically takes like beef or chicken stew. There's lot of veggies in it and the base is kind of thick gravy. We ate it over rice. It was fantastic! We also had rolls and for dessert, we had Rice Krispie treats. (The kids called the rice krispie treats "mouse poop" because of the shape of cereal we guess. Funny.) After dinner, we talked and played and had a really good time together. It was a great ending to a very long, adventurous, and intense day.

Good night and God bless.

The Cemetary

We visited a cemetary today and it was a very sobering and sad experience for us. The photo of the cemetary above is only the portion of the cemetary for very small children under 5 years old. There are an unbelievable number of graves for the size of the area and it paints a very true picture of the devastation that HIV/AIDS has brought to this country and especially to Welkom.

If you have been wondering why it's such a problem here in this area, here's a quick explanation. South Africa has produced a very large percentage of the world's gold. In the hey day of gold mining (20-50 years ago) men who worked at the mines lived there in hostels while they worked. (Some still do.) Many of them came from other towns and villages to work and so they lived on the job site. Each site had a man whose job was to hire prostitutes to "entertain" the men. These men became infected with HIV and passed it along to each new person they were with and eventually took it back to their villages and passed it along there.

In the second photo above, you'll see lots of baby bottles and medicine bottles. It is customary here to put items that the child used on his or her grave. So the child buried above was probably very sick and very young to still have been using bottles. It's so sad to walk along the graves and see toys and bottles and cups and other children's items. It's another experience that is very difficult to imagine unless you see it for yourself. Love is universal and there's no doubt that regardless of the situation, these people loved their children and how sad it must be to see their children dying and be helpless to save them.

A litte way from the children's portion of the cemetary is where the children over 5 and the adults are buried. Most of the children are buried here on Fridays and the adults are buried on Saturday. Every Saturday there is an average of 70 adult funerals. That number is mind blowing and very difficult to comprehend.

It's been a day filled with adventure and one filled with sadness. We are all so blessed to be here in South Africa and have so enjoyed being with the children at The Pines. They are so full of hope, and joy, and love. But today we saw another side of South Africa; a side that seems so hopeless, so sad, and so lonely.

The Poverty is Unimaginable

Imagine that you lived here...

Living in America makes it almost impossible to understand the devastation that is taking place in other parts of the world. Of course we have areas of our country where people are living in poverty and people are homeless, but this is not even comparable to what is happening here in South Africa. People are living in shanties like the one in the top photo. They are living in these with multiple adults and lots of children. Sometimes they have a stove and refrigerator and a bed. And sometimes they have nothing and they sleep on the floor. Children are running the streets of these small villages and among them are drunks, thieves, and predators. It is common for the adults to steal things given to the children such as money, water, and food. These children have been cheated from a long and fulfilling life starting at day 1. In the Welkom area, nearly half of all the people you meet have HIV. That includes the children who have done nothing to bring this upon themselves. They were born with it. 1 in every 2 people, 5o%... what a staggering number.

The second photo is of a house built at the dump. People literally live at the dump here. They sit around waiting for people to come and drop off garbage so they can sort through it for plastic. They save the plastic because recyclers will pay them money for those items. They also are looking for food. Can you even imagine feeding your baby garbage? It's absolutely horrendous. And most likely they would only feed their baby if they themselves have had enough to eat. It's very hard to imagine unless you see it for yourself. It's the saddest situation any of us could ever fathom seeing.

It's very hard to understand why people would choose to live this life and maybe they haven't chosen it, but have been born in to it and it's all they know. It's difficult to figure out why their government hasn't stepped in to stop the spread of HIV and save the people from living in such poverty. It's difficult to go to the dump and feel helpless to do anything that will make a difference. But it's the reality here in parts of South Africa and something needs to be done.

God has rescued the 21 children who now call The Pines their home. He has given them a new life and a new chance with the Niehoff's and the O'Tools. He has provided for them and loves them. And now He has inspired us to provide for them and love them. There are so many more children out there tonight who are sleeping on a dirt floor, sitting amongst the garbage at the dump, being abused, and being abandoned by their relatives who are dying of HIV. The Pines can only take so many children, they cannot save them all single handedly.

If we could only find the answer to this question... what is Christ calling us to do to help these people? We'll be praying about it and we ask that you pray with us.

May God bless you all and may God bless the people of South Africa.

Digging for Gold

This morning we went on an adventure that I'm sure most people will never have the privilege of doing. We were taken on a tour of a real, working South African gold mine and it was pretty intense. This is certainly not something they would ever allow you to do in the US because it could be a very dangerous thing to do.

The first photo above is a picture we took in our gold mining gear before we went down. Unfortunately Robin was unable to do the tour with us this morning because she has asthma and the conditions underground are too harsh for anyone with any type of medical condition. We had to wear a hard hat with a lamp on it, coveralls, rubber boots, and a belt. Thank goodness for the rubber boots because there is a lot of muck and water in the mine. They use a lot of water for cleaning and loosening the rock, plus of course they need it for drinking. There are a lot of pipes down there that carry water.

The second photo is of us in the elevator on the way down to the tunnel we were touring. We went down to level 6 which was over a mile and a half underground. The elevator was fast though, it only took us a few minutes to get down there. It's a cool elevator that has three levels. Each level can hold 32 people. On the way down, as you can see in the photo it was just our group (and I think one other guy) in the elevator, but on the way up we were packed like sardines in there with a bunch of miners. It was kind of crazy. We couldn't understand anything they were saying other than we kept hearing the word "Americans". Once we got down to level 6 we walked a couple of miles through the tunnels (which have already been mined out) to what they call the "face" of the mine. That's the area they are currently mining. It's wear they chip away the ore and remove the pieces from the mine to get the gold out. Apparently a mine is considered profitable if they get 3 grams of gold from ever ton of ore they remove. We had to crawl up a hill of rumble to get to where they were working. It was extremely hot and we were all dripping with sweat. We were shocked that they allowed us to go that far inside.

The last photo is of Mike (the safety manager who gave us the tour), Steve, and Bart when we reached the face of the mine. You can see how hot they were and how tight the space was that we were in. It was certainly an experience we'll never forget. And it really made us all appreciate the jobs we have back home because there is NO way any of us would want to be a miner and be stuck down there for 10-12 hours at a time in those conditions. It also makes you understand why gold is so expensive. What you have to go through to make gold is very intense and dangerous work.

So that was our first adventure of the day, but there was more... much more.

Funny Stories of the Day

We have had quite a few funny stories today...

First of all, the men have come up with a new phrase... "Mind the Gap". We won't go into complete detail about what it means, but let's just say that if they say it to you, you should probably check your pants.

Secondly, Jamey helped Chris do the dishes last night. (Chris's wife should know that he is a dish washing maniac!) Chris will not put a dish in the dishwasher that is not perfectly cleaned off. Jamey tried to convince him to go relax and take a break from the dishes after they were almost done. He finally conceded and Jamey finished up. Today after lunch we discovered that she forgot to actually start the dishwasher last night and at lunch we ate off of the dirty dishes. They were so clean when Chris put them in there that we couldn't tell the dishwasher had never been run. Yum... dirty silverware.

Thirdly, we found out today that Robin would prefer to pray to herself than pray out loud. Brian informed her that she might have more luck if she prayed to God instead of praying to herself.

Day 3 at The Pines

Today we spent a lot of time working on painting projects. You can see some of the photos below. Just in case some of you don't believe we're actually working, we've got photographic proof:) We are having so much fun! The kids were a little bummed out that we spent the whole day working instead of playing with them like we did yesterday. But I'm sure we'll make up for lost time this weekend. Tomorrow morning we're planning to visit a mine and go see the dump and the cemetary and some other sights in town. I'm sure it will be a very sobering day for all of us.

We stayed up late last night talking and getting to know each other better. It was well worth the sleepiness this morning though because it was very cool to learn more about each other and talk about how God has impacted each of our lives and brought us all to this common place at The Pines. We each have totally different life stories, but through Christ we all have a similar purpose and passion to do all we can to give back to others what he has given to each of us.

This morning Steve led a pretty cool devotional time and we talked a lot about tithing. It was an extension of some our conversation from last night. Point of Grace is getting ready to enter a series about sacrificial giving and we were talking about what that means. Brian said something that I think really struck a cord in all of us and gave us a complete paradigm shift. He said "We should never think about what we are going to give to God. We should really be thinking about what portion of what we've been given we should keep. Everything has been given to us by God and belongs to Him." That's a pretty powerful way to think about giving. The Niehoff's and the O'Tools are extremely inspiring people and we all feel very blessed to have been given the chance to be around them and get to know and learn from them.

Thanks be to God.

The Girls Sang for Us

Yesterday while we were playing with the kids, some of the girls sang one of their South African praise songs for us. This is a video of Motshidisi, Maria, Ntswaki, Rafiloe, and an appearance by Okuhle at the end. The kids all have beautiful voices and they know a lot of songs. They really like to perform for an audience, so we're lucky and get to hear them sing quite a bit. It's super cool and we're excited to share it with you! Enjoy the sounds of the children from The Pines!!

Photos from Day 3 at The Pines

We did lots of painting today! We painted one of the boys' flats as well as the laundry/bathroom that the guys remodeled yesterday. There was lots of welding and work done outside on the toddler fence too. More about our day to come...

Funny Story of the Day

Troy running down the hallway to the kitchen: "Hey Wynde can you go get Brian and tell him Chris needs a concrete stretcher?"

Jamey: "Don't worry, I'll go tell him" (Wynde was busy)

Jamey: Knock, Knock, Knock on Brian's door. "I'm supposed to come tell you that Chris says he needs a concrete stretcher."

Brian: Smiling says "Uh, sure. Where is he?"

Jamey: "I don't know upstairs I think."

An hour or so later at lunch...

Jamey: "Hey did you guys find the concrete stretcher?"

That's when the room erupted with laughter and I found out that there is no such thing as a concrete stretcher. Wow, I'm gullible.

Pictures of the bathroom/laundry room project...

Some great pictures of the kids from today!!

Day 3 at The Pines

Greetings from The Pines! We all got some much needed rest last night and we got up this morning ready to get to work! (Although we're not sure that it should really be called work.) After a breakfast and devotional time we got down to it. Chris, Steve, Brian, and some of the older boys have spent all day tearing down one wall and rebuilding another in what used to be a laundry/bathroom. Now it's officially two rooms - a laundry room and a boys bathroom. Julie and Bart fixed a bunch of carpet squares in the flats and in the activity room that had come loose. Troy dug a trench outside around what is soon to be a "sprinkler waterpark" of sorts with some fountains for the kids to play in. And right now Louis and Troy and some of the boys are working on putting in the poles that will anchor a fence for the "sprinkler waterpark". Troy is on a roll with the fence building today and he's got a great start on another fence to keep the toddler's in their play area outside. Robyn and Wynde and Jamey have spent most all of the day playing with the kids. We've been practicing their names all day and I'm sure we're starting to drive them crazy making them repeat them for us over and over. We're pretty close to having all 21 names down and that's probably our biggest accomplishment since we've been here so far:) Soon we'll be sitting down for dinner. Wynde, Robyn, and Jamey have been appointed team chefs for the week and right now we're whipping up some meatloaf, baked potatoes, and mixed veggies.

That's our day at The Pines. We miss everyone at home, but we're all safe and sound and thrilled to be at God's beck and call to do what we can here.

The Rest of Day 2...

We got a chance to sit down with Brian and Louis and talk about what we'll be working on while we're here. We have some very talented construction guys on our team and Brian has big plans for them! (Don't worry, the women have plenty to keep busy with too!) We'll be adding a bedroom and a laundry room on to Louis and Amber's apartment, plus painting one of the boy's flats, plus helping with the kids' since they are on break right now and will be here all day this week. They go back to school next week, so we're looking forward to taking advantage of this extra time we're lucky enough to get with them before their break ends. We had a great dinner tonight with Brian and Lois, and Amber and Louis. It was a good opportunity for us to pick their brains and ask loads of questions about how everything works around here. God is doing some pretty amazing things at The Pines and we're so thankful to be a part of it by serving here.

You'll have to be patient with us as we work out some internet/email kinks. Hopefully we'll be more in touch with you all tomorrow by email. Thank you for your prayers!

PS... I know these entries haven't been too exciting so far, but hopefully tomorrow when we dig in and get to work we'll have more to write and some photos to show you.