Being back home.

Wow... So I am really back. The plane ride took about 30+ hours. I basically slept for the entire time and watched about 4 movies... so it was rough.. but not as deathly impossible as many people put it! I cannot tell you how good it feels to be reunited with my friends and family back home. I feel that I am in the honeymoon stage of it all. Reuniting with people and family again is just amazing and I feel so comfortable.

There has been a lot of new "firsts" for me since being back. It feels very different and at times, awkward, to have the power to call or contact someone within a second (with my cell phone) and to go to a fridge and have all my favorite items inside waiting for me to devour. Driving a car is surreal and especially on the same roads that I had driven on day in and day out so long before. I have used a straightener and a curling iron for the first time on my hair in 4 months.

It seems like it has been such a long time since I was in Africa... with all of my friends. That is something that has probably been one of the weirdest things to try to adjust to. I made some of the best and deepest friendships with the 50 of us who studied their last semester. I saw them every single day....They really turned into my family and not being able to just walk over to one of their "chalet's" and have a "talk" is something I am not quite sure I like. haha. I have not yet added all of their numbers to my cell phone so every time I want to talk to one of them I am in a hole because I have to use a cell phone! My whole outlook on cell phones has changed tremendously. The truth is... I do not like having one at the moment. I hate that I have to use it... And texting multiple people at once is exhausting. I really think I've enjoyed and learned to just "be." I have been shown what it is like to have no distractions within a conversation. I love slowing down... And having the chance to really connect with people minus a phone. I remember before coming to South Africa, I would not let my cell phone ever leave my side. I would be talking with friends and family with it in my hands and half listening to them. I carried it with me all over the house whether I was upstairs or downstairs. haha... My sister, two days ago, came running upstairs with my phone after it went off and said, "You really have changed, haven't you?" and when she gave it to me, I didn't even want it. So that is something I really am trying to learn how to balance and come to a median with... Because it is just so crazy how much cell phones are a part of our society and our main way of communicating.

Something that I have been trying to be able to do... but I find is nearly impossible, is to give the things I experienced and the amazing people I met in Africa justice. I find that sometimes I am overwhelmed with the question, "How was being in South Africa??!?" I struggle with that question because that question can probably be answered in a couple of hours and with a whole stretch of emotions integrated within it. I could tell you it was so much fun, but then I'd be lying about the pain and heartache I felt to see the way so many people live... to see the reality for many of the lives there. I could tell you it was the best and worst experience of my life. I did not enjoy seeing all the poverty...I did not enjoy witnessing and hearing stories about the child's lives' we were working with every day... Kids being abused, not having meals, going to bed hungry... The list goes on and on. And the point I am trying to get at is that this experience was the best thing I could have asked for. I am on a journey to figuring out what to do with it all. And not wanting to conform back to living "comfortably." Probably one of the biggest principles I learned while being in South Africa was that being a christian should not be easy. This got me thinking... Before coming to Africa, I was living life so easily and considered myself a Christian, however, I was not challenging myself in any way, shape, or form.

When I show people pictures and videos of Ethembeni and of all the faces that crossed my path, my mind floods with memories and I crave to go back so much. I miss them and it makes me tear up just thinking of all of those kids and every single staff member at the family center.

I hope and cannot wait for the day I return to the family center...But Ethembeni needs your help, whoever is reading this. They are struggling financially with their donations and have since shut down their open hours for the kids to come and receive meals and fellowship from 5 days to 3 days a week. For some of these kids, the family center is the only stable thing in their life... If it is on your heart to help in any way, let me know!!

Thanks to all of you who followed along on my journey... it really means a lot and I hope that you were able to share some of the same experiences as I did from reading it :)
love, Jamie

Somebody turn off the Fast Forward button!!

Hey everyone! Wow, it has been a while since i've been able to catch my breath! I have just been on the go these past few weeks!! So we got to Cape Town last week and I just love it!! It is so beautiful here! So far, I have been staying at a homestay with an adorable family for the last week! They are seriously so wonderful! Their names are Nallie, Trever, Jessie (boy,23), Lisa (girl, 16), and Adam (boy, 15). This family has opened up their home to us so that we can get a little taste of what it is like to live the way they do. They live in town called, "Ocean View" and they leave very simply. I am paired living their with my friend, Daniele, and we already feel like kids in the family. It has been great to talk with them about their way of life and compare and contrast it to ours. They live in a coloured community and are coloureds themselves. I have been informed that they classify themselves as "coloured" people and do not take offense to that title!! They are also not categorized with blacks either. I have learned so much about the history of South Africa and have had the chance to pick at their experiences since being here. I had never known about "District 6" which happened about 30 or 40 years ago, when the government forced all the people leaving in District 6 out because they wanted to use it for something else and develop it because it was a township. My house dad, Trever, has taken us around Cape Town and has pointed out all the places that were whites only and coloureds only and blacks only. There were also designated beaches and shops that they were allowed to go into. It has just amazed me with how far they've come today with all the changes.

My family has been treating us so well and serve us coffee and tea about 10 times a day no joke! They are constantly feeding us and in order to not be rude, we must eat. hahaha. But the good thing is that the food is delicious and Nallie can cook beautifully! Last night, Nallie told me her testimony to becoming a christian and it was so powerful. She was originally Muslim and started dating Trever in highschool. Trever was a christian and as they got more serious in their relationship and were thinking of marriage, trever told nallie that he would convert to muslim. Nallie felt uneasy about this for she felt that trever was a "better" christian than she was as a muslim. So she made the hard choice to convert but this had a huge toll on her relationship with her family. I didn't know that if you convert from being a muslim, your family will shun you and the person who converts will become "dead" to them. This is exactly what happened... Nallie and Trever told her famly and they shunned her immediately. But before she were to become a full on christian, she wanted to make sure her heart was right... And not just become a christian in order to marry trever. So she said she remembered getting down on her knees and just praying to God and I cannot give this all justice as I am writing it on here, but it was so beautiful and this whole story brought tears to my eyes! Since then, God has provided people in their lives who have taken the place of her famliy who have shunned her and she says that she is so happy that God had filled that emptiness and she is so happy!! Nallie has so much strength and I was glad to learn so much about her life last night and of how she became a christian!!

This week we have been taking classes and touring Cape Town. Today we went on a tour around a Township called, "landa" and ate at this meat place. Tomorrow we are taking a Fairy to Robin Island all day. Friday we have class/lecture, and on Saturday we are climbing Table Mountain!! woop woop! 2 weeks are left from today until we take a plane back to the states! I am enjoying everything so much and absolutely love it here! Yesterday, me and a few friends went to the ocean and ran along it and basked in the beauty of this place!! God blessed Cape Town with so much beauty and I am trying to soak it all up in 2 weeks!! If I have time, I will go to an internet cafe to upload some pictures, However, at the moment I am at a Bible Institute (college campus) that has like zero internet! haha So if I don't get to it, i'll put them up when I'm in the states!!

love and miss you all!! Take care :)

Time is flying by! Off to Capetown now!!

Wow! So much has happened this past week and this weekend that I do not know even where to start! Let me first start by filling you all in with what happened last week with the safari/living with the zulu tribe! Half of our giant group went to live with the zulu tribe first while the other half lived on a game reserve and went on a safari! I started at the safari and it was SO much fun! We woke up at like 4:30 am every morning in order to get a good start to finding some animals! I saw the most exotic animals... zebra, giraffe, elephants, rhinos, hippos, cheetahs, scorpions, spiders, mpala, and nyala! They were so amazing and I took about 400 pictures! haha! We were in these open vehicles so it felt like we were really out in the wild! My favorite part was definitely being a few car lengths away from cheetah! They were so beautiful and we actually got to see the cheetah chase an mpala right in front of our eyes! I seriously felt like I was on Animal planet or something!! We were literally out looking for animals the entire day.. we would only come back to base camp for lunch and dinner! At night we would play games as a group and it was so nice to be able to get to know everyone because we were in a smaller group.

It was time to swap places on Wednesday so all of us were very excited to go live in the zulu tribe... however there was a huge issue that had come about that we were all unaware of its serverity! Apparently 20 of the 27 students had become violently sick and many spent the night in the hospital the night before! They were unsure of what exactly it was that caused all the students to be sick but they think it was because they drank water that the tribe gave them! It was terrible... as we swapped buses it was probably one of the most pitiful sights I have ever seen. They all looked in pain and it was just so sad to see. It made all of us so nervous to go to the tribe because we didn't want to get sick like they did! But after some reassurance, we were still excited but very cautious and stopped at a gas station to buy a ton of water for the next few days! We got to the tribe (which was literally in the middle of nowhere... like an hour from civilization) and moved into these adorable looking huts with mud floors! We met a bunch of people who live there and a ton of people and kids from nearby villiages came by to hang out with us! They performed a zulu dance our first night.. which was so interesting and they pulled a few of us out of the audience to perform with them... It was fun trying to dance like them... but I have to admit, it was awkward too! haha But the next day we went on a super long hike and it was so hot out! We met a medicine man in the forest and that was sweet! We also stopped at this one woman's hut to buy some of her bead jewelry! I learned how to make some jewelry with them too and we hung out with them for a while and sang praise songs in zulu and just talked. The bathrooms and showers were very interesting! the toilet was literally a hole with a sheet of cardboard over it! It was disguting and anytime any of us had to use the restroom, we dreaded it BIG TIME! The shower part was interesting because we had to get hot water from this giant boiling pot over the fire, poor it into a bucket, and then carry it over to the shower to poor it into another bucket, and then lift it up on a rope so that we can shower ourselves with it. It was a lengthy process but a necessity if you wanted to be clean! We spent our second evening sitting around the campfire with all of our group and all the zulus! We sang sons and just chatted... It was so much fun and I cherished the whole weekend for what it was.... I appreciate the way they live and the hard work they put into everything! It is amazing how different of a lifestyle they truly live!
And so I thought I got through living with the zulu tribe being healthy, but that shortly failed today when I had a super upset stomach and found myself needing to use the restroom a ton... Along with the majority of both groups! It is not fun to be sick, but it has been comical to find our group talking about these very personal issues concerning "diahreea and throwing up" in depth and so freely! I love it.. haha... But we are unsure of what exactly caused us all to get sick... but for sure it had to be something while at the zulu tribe :/ But many are still sick and please pray for everyone to heal as we are getting ready to have a week's travel by bus down to capetown! It is such a necessity to be healthy as we are constantly going going going! Many have made trips to the hospital... so this incident was definitely not a good thing, but I feel it has brought us all closer in a very unique way.
Today I packed pretty much all day and cleaned out my room at African Enterprise. Tonight we had our fairwell dinner and it was very fun! We all got dressed up for the occasion and had a delicious and fancy meal! We had some of our friends from ethembeni come to join us for dinner and it was lovely. It was nice to have one last goodbye! They are like family for sure!
Tomorrow we leave at 7 in the morning and are driving all day!
Alright, well I am gone for the rest of the week and will not have internet until Friday and by then, I'll be in Capetown!! During this next week, I will be bungee jumping off the largest bungee jump in the WORLD!! YEA BABY! And also exploring into the deep Cango caves! I am SOOO FREAKING EXCITED! Hope all of you are doing well! love and miss you all!!
love, Jamie

Saying Goodbye to our family at the Family Center

Wow. I honestly do not know where to begin except to start by thanking God for the amazing experience of spending the last four weeks at Ethembeni/Mpophomeni Family Center. I am not going to forget the friendships I have made with the staff and kids here. They have all touched me so much.

Yesterday was our last day at the site, and I could not have even imagined the way it played out. Everything was so humbling... Our group decided to throw a pizza party with lots of good treats for everyone! So in the morning, a few of us picked up the pizzas and headed to the family center. We got there and set up all the food and drinks and organized the staff to eat in one room and the kids took all their food outside to eat and play. The time we had with the staff during lunch was one of my most memorable times I have had at the family center... We were preparing to say our goodbyes... We started off by thanking them by opening their arms and being the people that they are. This turned into personal speeches for everyone to share about the impact that this whole experience has been for us. Little did I know, that they would open up and share what their hearts were feeling as well. Each staff member: Ellen, Pindi, Nanhlanhla, Zwe,Claire, Nambu, and Hlaka all shared with us what their time has been like for them since we have been here. I can tell you it was such a humbling experience. They spoke in Zulu and Zwe translated... I don't think their was one dry eye in the room... We all were in tears as we went around the circle sharing the impact that each has had on us. I was so thankful for this time..... And God was definitely surrounding us in that room. After all of this, we surrounded the staff and were blessed with the opportunity to pray over them and their impact on the family center. And after, they surrounded us....It was honestly one of the most beautiful gatherings I have ever experienced. I cherish all the joy, tears, and laughter that was expressed during this time. [Above is Claire and I...She is such a great woman of God and I am so glad and blessed for these past few weeks of getting to know her and have a friendship with her. She devoted 3 years of her life working at the family center and has such a servant heart!]

Another amazing thing that God blessed the family center with on this day was the opportunity to show the kids and staff the, "Everything by Lifehouse" skit. I encourage anyone who is reading this right now to watch this skit on youtube. It is one of the most powerful things I have ever watched and it makes me cry every time, as it symbolizes and resembles each individual's personal relationship with God. So we made the playroom into a movie theater and all the kids watched it. After the skit, we had everyone who had questions or comments about the video to come into another room so we could have question and answer time. Right after this was said, a bunch of teens flooded into the room and we all sat down in there. We had Khlaka and Zwe there and they took charge and really led the discussion and translated for us. They asked and commented about the video and the struggles that the girl in the skit faced and how they were hurting her relationship with God. The questions were deep, vulnerable, and creative. It was great to have this time for them to ask these questions... They have so many questions about sin, dealing with money, and promiscuity.

The day before, we also had another question/answer time with them the day before and it was an open discussion which led to a deep discussion about sin and the temptations they are faced with every day in the township. I found this time to be such a beautiful thing for the teenagers...I know that these types of things are not discussed in their daily lives and they may have never even talked about it before. Another amazing thing that came about through this time with the teens was that Khlaka and Zwe led this time with them and it opened a door for these kids to see them as people they can be comfortable with to come to with questions or struggles. I pray that Zwe and Khlaka and Claire and all the care givers at the family center can be someone these kids can come to with questions. It was a great thing to be a part of and see this door open for everyone at the family center.

As if the day could not have been more filled with love, it continued to be displayed more and more. Claire, Zwe, and the other staff members put on a little ceremony for us to receive these beaded pins with the South Africa flag on it. Each of our mentors placed it on us and they told us that it was a gift for being here, working with them, and becoming a part of the family. They are beautiful pins and everytime I where it, I will think of them : ) As the day came to an end, I was sad to say goodbye... But I hate goodbye's so I turned it into, "I'll see you later." These people have made such an impact on my life. The way they serve these children every single day just amazes me. It is not easy work and I am inspired by each and every one of them and the way they devote their lives to making mpophemeni a better place! I am still processing all of my emotions... so as I speak, I am getting all worked up! haha... But I will definitely never forget these wonderful people : )

<3 Jamie

Happiness

Wow. I am so grateful for the people who I have come to know at Ethembeni. I would like to share with you one in particular.
There is a young 17-yr-old woman named Happiness (Nobojulo), who attends the family center every single day. I had met her at the beginning, but had not had the chance to really get to know her story and who she is. Yesterday, I had the chance of having a one-on-one with her. I greeted her in the morning and asked her how she was doing and stuff… just small talk.. And we both started getting more comfortable with each other. She wants to be a hair stylist one day so she was braiding and playing with my hair for a while. When it came to be around lunch time, she asked me if I wanted to eat lunch in the backyard with her and so we went in the back and she got two chairs and we sat down. I just started asking questions about her life….I asked her about her parents and she shared that they both died a few years ago. I do not know how her dad died but she said her mom killed herself from drinking poison at work… and that her mom wanted to die. Happiness went on to say that her brother is in jail because he attempted to hijack a car…and she does not have a relationship with him at all. As she was telling me these horrible things that have happened to her family… I noticed she said a lot of this with no emotions involved… it was just reality for her. Looking at her, I honestly would have never guessed this was her life. She lives on her own and is struggling every single day to get by. She is looking for a job and says it is very tough to find one around where she lives. She says that she barely has enough money for food and relies solely on the family center to provide her meals. On the weekends, she goes without food because she has no money…. Hearing all of this, I could not help but to tear up in front of her. All of these things, a young teenager should not have to deal with… It got me questioning why her??…. I told her that I cannot even imagine the way she lives. I told her that I have not realized all the blessings that I have in my life and that I have taken them for granted after hearing what she has said…That I do not know what it is like to not have food…to not have a family waiting for me when I come home…to not have someone there to take care of me. I don’t know why she has to live like this and I don’t. At this point we both were in tears. It broke my heart that she has to deal with all of these hardships. …

But the light at the end of the tunnel is that she has God. I was reminded by one of my favorite verses, Jeremiah 29:11.. “For you know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.” I told her that God did not place her in this place for a reason and that he has a purpose for her life. I prayed with her and thanked her for sharing all of this with me. She said that she doesn’t talk about all of this a lot and that she feels better when she does.
Happiness is truly a blessing to me. She makes me want to strengthen my faith in God. Her determination to keep going and make the most of what she has is beyond inspiring. After lunch, she took me to her house so I could see it! It was probably a
20-minute walk from the family center and she lives in the same house she lived in when her parents were still alive. I was very impressed with how well she has kept the house and how tidy it was. She lives out of a suit case and as I was looking around her room, I noticed a list of things that she wanted to buy as soon as she had money… The list included the following items: toothpaste, deodorant, potatoes, maize meal, etc… just the basic necessities to get by… Something cool that hung on the wall right across her bed was an isiZulu phrase and she explained to me the English translation: That when you face hardships and struggles, to give them up to the Lord. : )
Happiness also shared that she has a 3 year old son! I got to meet him because she brought him to the family center yesterday : )
He is a bundle of joy and looked so much like his mom. But it hit me that she has to struggle to provide for him when she can barely provide for herself. Please keep Happiness in your prayers. I wish you all could meet her… I cannot even think of her without tearing up… She has definitely made an impact on my life and I am so thankful that God crossed our paths together. At my final day yesterday, I received a note from Happiness which warmed my heart so much...She calls me my zulu name, "Gugu" (which means precious) and she wrote in this letter, "Gugu, thanx 4 everything u've done 4 us God bless you... luv you alot! Gugu if I die or travel so far I will write your name in the sky so that everybody can see how much you mean 2 me. 4rm: Happiness" This note is one of the best gifts I have ever received... I am so humbled by this whole experience...

Love, Jamie

beauty through pain.

"Love each other with genuine affection. And take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble and keep on praying. When God's people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality." -Romans 12:10-13

This verse has helped motivate me so much while I am serving at Ethembeni. It has summarized the time spent and the way I strive to spend my time while serving the Mpophemeni community.

Over this past week, It has really been hitting me the importance of the family center in this community. On Thursday, I was informed that a young girl named, "happiness," opened up and shared that the only meals she receives are from the family center. She mentioned that she is not sure what she is going to do next month when two days will be cut out of the week...She is about 17 years old and lives on her own because both her parents have passed away and she is just getting by. I was in shock hearing this... I honestly cannot imagine what her life is like.. to now know when your next meal will be... Hearing these stories about the kids' lives are very hard to hear and accept... so my Thursday ended with a feeling I had not yet felt before... It really sank in the reality for many of these kids... and the hard obstacles they are facing at such a young age : /....

I am trying to see God in all of these situations and trust in him more and more through hearing these stories... and having faith that he will provide for these children and that there can be beauty through pain...<3

Friday came around and it was a completely different day than the all of our other days..It was the first day that all of the kids did not come because it was a staff retreat. It was a time of reflection, praise worship, and fellowship. We started off the morning with worship with about 25-30 of us.They combined the staff who work at the clinic and the family center. A lot of the worship was in isiZulu but it I was familiar with a lot of the songs! However, we also sang a lot of familiar hymns that we sing at church back home, which I loved. One of the songs that I have enjoyed singing in isiZulu a TON is, "Siyagudumisa." This in english means, "We glorify your name," and it is such a beautiful song. Then we had a tea break and had time to be in fellowship and get to know some of the volunteers and staff who work at this ministry. I spoke with a woman named, Norah, who I went on the home visits with last Thursday. I had a chance to get to know her and her time spent with Ethembeni. She has been volunteering here for 10 years and absolutely loves it and reaching out to people in the community. She had such a peaceful spirit and said that she knows this is exactly where she is supposed to be. I enjoyed talking with her. After tea break, a man came to preach about forgiveness with us. It was so great because he translated into isiZulu and English and had so much energy when he spoke. I could not help but want to listen to everything he was saying! The rest of the day was more worship and time alone with God. I could not have asked for a better way to spend a day... I love having the opportunity to slow down because it allows me to think and process so much. So today was so great!!

Back to the topic of thinking and reflecting.. For our community engagement class we have journals that we are writing in and it is a part of our final grade for the class. I actually enjoy this part of the class because through journaling, I really am able to recognize my own feelings. This is one of my journal entries to my "So what? Reflections on How this experience is changing my life" for week 3:
"This experience is changing the way I want to live my life. I am so blessed with the life God has given me and the people he has placed in my life. It has been difficult for me to see the struggles that many people in the community face, even at such a young age. It has been shaping my perspective on the things that really matter in life. I am more aware of the little, but huge blessings that I have in my life. I have a home to go back to, an education, supportive and loving family, money, and so many luxuries. Now, I do not feel guilty for what I have, but I am so much more appreciative. I want to bless others in need with the blessings I have. I want to help, even after service sites are over. I am just trying to figure out by what means am I able to do this and what that may look like when I am back home. All I know is that my heart is aching for and hoping for a change for many lives that are struggling in this township and the rest of Africa."


On a side note... haha.. my weekend consisted of the following!!
This weekend was a bit hectic with school! I had over 15 pages to write for two of my classes... so it was very overwhelming. But I finished it all this afternoon so I am a happy camper right now. On saturday, we went to uShaka all day! Yes, I could have been a good student and stayed back to work on my papers, but pshhh. I'm only in Africa once right?! So I went! It was a huge water park/marine world place! It was in Durban and right next to the ocean. I spent the day acting like a kid, racing down water slides, being silly in the lazy river, etc. I got to spend the day with people I have not hung out with since being here. So I loved it all the more. We also saw this dolphin show. It was cool, but sea world is more impressive ;) Another highlight of my day was seeing all the sharks and wildlilfe in the deep blue ocean. There was a great display of aquariums!! And something that I have noticed growing deep within myself is that I have a great passion for sharks ever since this last summer after watching shark week!!! So I enjoyed seeing those fascinating creatures the most!! : )

There are three days left of service sites this week. I hope to enjoy and appreciate the short time I have left with the kids and staff this week. Tomorrow there are supposed to be about 15 volunteers coming in and helping us for the day! There are so many but it should be a fun time with an overflow of love for the kids!! We may be setting up a soccer tournament as well so I will fill you in tomorrow about how it goes! I hope you all are doing so well!!

Love and miss you all
<3 jamie

The gift of empowering.

Wow, the time is flying by here... there are only five more days that we have at Ethembeni. However, there are amazing things happening at the family center. First, I would like to share that this place and the staff working here is so amazing and is having a very positive impact on the children who come here. This is a safe place for nurturing, food, and socializing amongst the staff and kids. This week we have been digging deeper with the staff and the people who really know mpophemeni (because they grew up here). We have been doing activities that our community engagement professor, Francis, has been teaching us to figure out with them what the bigger issues are that this community and their children are facing every day.

One of the activities, for example, that we did on Monday was called, "The River of Life." This activity required them to mark down plotted points on a sheet of paper displaying the good and the bad times in a history outline. After this, you connect the dots and it symbolizes the river of life. It allowed them to look at the highs and lows that they have had since living in Mpophemeni and in the family center. It had a very positive impact for them to see that even when the lows came, soon after a positive thing shot up. This directly correlates with the current situation that the ethembeni family center is in. As I have mentioned previously, the family center will be open only 3 days of the week versus 5 days in the month of April due to insufficient funds and donations. This has a negative ripple effect on the staff, children, and families throughout the community who are involved with the family center. So on their river of life diagram, they all marked down that this was a low point for them. Hopefully it was encouraging to see that a positive thing could come from this after being able to compare the other highs and lows and see that a positive can come from this. This was even encouraging for me to see and hope the best for the family center.

At times when we do some of these activities with the staff, I feel very overwhelmed with the issue of HIV/AIDS. It is overwhelming because it is such a HUGE problem here and it feels impossible to end this cycle of it being spread. One of the staff members, Khlaka, said that a huge reason for why it is being spread is because parents are not having a conversation with their kids about not sleeping around. Instead, it goes unsaid and the kids have no direction with how to live their life intimately. One of the teenage moms, Mandisa, says that all of her friends have multiple boyfriends and that they sleep around with them all the time. She told us that she has learned, after having her son "Phila" that she does not want to live in that sort of lifestyle. In return, her friends give her a hard time because she is going against the "current." It is so hard to know that it is ingrained in this community, at such a young age, to live that way. As Grant, the founder of Ethembeni, puts it, "We all are not necessarily HIV positive, but HIV affected. I have chewed at this quote... and it is so true. I want there to be a way to end it... I really do. It is just a matter of digging at the root of the problem in order to fully change it. (The picture to the right is of Mandisa and her son, Phila.)

Today was a very productive day! This morning, Cynthia and I tackled a photo project. The first week that we were here, we took photos of all the children and wrote down their names next to it in hopes of helping everyone learn each other's names and also for the kids to be able to see what they look like. Today, we had the printed pictures and wrote their names on each photo and pasted it on one of the walls. I cannot tell you how much these kids' faces lit up when they saw their photo on the wall. They were pointing at their own picture and looking at each person and smiling. It was such a simple thing to do and I think it made the kids feel special. Next, a bunch of us helped with finishing up the Jesus mural and it looks amazing! We wrote the verse from Matthew 19:14 above the image, which is, "Jesus said, 'let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." It matched up perfectly and all the children placed their handprint around it to leave their mark.

I am cherishing the relationships that are being made so much. These kids brighten every single day that I am there. Today, however, they were a handful! As the rest of the group did another activity with the staff, I was placed in the playroom....alone... WITH NINE CHILDREN!
I have never experienced chaos like this in my life! hahaha. They were supposed to be having nap time... so as I substitued myself and took Phendile's place (one of the staff), things changed dramtically. All I can say is that I found out who the trouble makers are ;)!! And I had no shame in attempting to punish them and putting them in time out... which meant holding them in my lap VERY TIGHTLY! haha. It was difficult though to yell at them considering I speak english... and they don't. So the language barrier definitely became an issue for me today.. ;)

I am loving this place so much and the impact that it is having and will continue to have on this community.

Prayer Requests: Prayer for endurance through the days, to find a way to include an opportunity for spiritual growth with the kids, unity within our group, and to continue finding time and a way to process what I am seeing and experiencing every day.

Thanks you guys!! <3 abrazos y besos, Jamie (spanish for hugs and kisses ;))


P.S. Something that was pretty cool that happened today... It started pooring rain...and so all of us were crammed inside the house. As the weather cleared up, there was a huge/beautiful rainbow that spread across the entire township of Mpophemeni. It was amazing and I was so in awe of the fact that you could see where it started and where it ended.. covering the entire community. There seemed to be a deeper meaning behind it that my friend, Alex, brought up to us later tonight at dinner. That there is hope for this township : )

SOCCER GAME!! YEBO YES!

Wow! So Saturday was a jam-packed day! I started off my day by heading to Durban to do some serious shopping!! It is so great to shop here because it is a lot cheaper than back in the states. So I bought a cool African painting and lots of jewelry =] After shopping for a few hours, I headed to the beach for about an hour to soak up some rays of sunshine which was just lovely!

After this, my group from my service site and I planned out the day to go to a soccer game at the world cup stadium! It is brand new and SO beautiful! We planned to meet our friends/staff from the ethembeni family center, Khlaka, Claire, Zwe, and Nankhlanhla aka "Nany!!" We were dropped off at the stadium and I was so excited to go to my first real soccer game. The teams that were playing were Durban vs. Pietermaritzburg. We were rooting for Pietermaritzburg so all of us wore a shade of blue to show our pride. We had lots of stares, considering we were out-of-towners! haha... The fans are crazzzzzy! They had dances that they would perform and chants that they would yell. It was definitely a cultural experience! It was a great time to bond and hang out with our new South African friends! Even though Pietermaritzburg lost, it was an entertaining time...


After the game we headed to one of the best fast food restaurants out there....MACDONALDS! ok, so I actually find this very humorous considering the fact that McDonald's would be my last chocie to eat at back in the states, but here it is delicious because it is sort of like comfort food for me. After my oreo mcflurry, us ladies were dancing out in the parking lot and were teaching claire and nany how to do the "soldier boy"! It was fun because we all were just being silly! I was sort of on a sugar high from my mcflurry. and so for those of you who know me REALLY WELL, you know that when I have sugar in my system, I get crazzzzy! hahahah ;) ..
[Nany and I at the game!!]

Then all of us headed back to African Enterprise (our campus) and watched the movie, "Seven Pounds!" I had such a great day hanging out with our new friends and going to the soccer game!!

Prayer Requests:1. Please pray for my endurance and strength for the upcoming week 2. To be able to slow down and process everything that I am seeing and feeling... It is all coming in so fast that it is hard to realize what is happening and occurring at my service sites. 3. For God to break my heart for what breaks His...

Thanks you guys!! love and blessings, Jamie

Day 5 & 6 at ethembeni!

[My amazing group!! Rob, Cynthia, Kailey, Alyssa, Alex, me, and Eli!!]

Okay, so I feel like there is so much to write about! Oh my goodness... Ok, well let me start with Thursday! On Thursday my group and I had the opportunity to split up and go to different home visits with volunteers who go out to these homes every Thursday. I went with Kailey (in my group) and a woman named Norah and Tutu. We went to a few different houses and they all were unique and different in their own ways. It was difficult in some of the house visits that we do because most of the time they speak in isiZulu. It is very hard to understand and since we only know a few general phrases it becomes frustrating with the language barrier at some of our visits. But today, I was thankful that one of the woman we were with were able to translate for us.
At one of the house visits I went to, there were two woman who were HIV positive. One of them I assumed was about 25 years old and the other mid forties or so. They both were interested in Jesus and having their own bible. So we brought them brand new bibles (in IsiZulu) and food for the next week. Kailey and I mostly watched/observed because they all were speaking in Zulu. Norah would translate in english for us afterwards. When they opened up there bible, they were so overjoyed and happy... it makes my eyes fill with tears just thinking about it. They asked Jesus into their hearts that day. I didn't know this until after Norah translated the zulu prayer she and them prayed... and all I can say is that it was very rewarding to see this.
The next home visit was with a couple who has been together since sixteen years old and have nine children. It is pretty uncommon for the husband to be the father of all nine children... And this couple is on fire about God. They are wanting to get married and have a white wedding! Norah, the volunteer we were with, made the wife a wedding dress and got them wedding rings. They had the biggest smiles on their faces and were so thankful. They are waiting for a few pieces to fall together before they are legally able to marry but it was just great to see that this family can be an example to many families in the community. They asked me to pray before leaving and I was so happy to pray for them! This visit lifted me up so much and I found that their happiness was so infectious that I could not help but to smile. I was thankful for the opportunity to go these home visits and see some amazing things that are happening in mpophemeni.

This morning, I woke up feeling pretty crappy. I had a bad cough and terrible allergies and I was not particularly looking forward to the day because my health wasn't up to parr. But we prayed as we got to the service site for all of our health because other members of my group have been feeling sick too. We also spent time praying over the family center building and for the Holy Spirit to fill the place. Throughout the day, my health slowly got better and I was feeling more like myself.
I enjoyed playing and cuddling with the kids today. It definitely feels so comfortable to see them every morning... I wonder what it will be like going three days without seeing them with the weekend now! I am not going to think about that.. haha. Later today, we also went to the community's "museum type thing," where we were informed about how mpophemeni was formed and some of the hardships it has faced, especially during the apartheid years. There is a memorial of a 6 year old girl who died by being ran over by a white policemen on purpose in the late eighties, I believe. It was a very sad story, but it was reality during those times and is sometimes very hard to understand that incidents like that happened all the time. [below is a picture of some of the kids helping to paint the Jesus mural on one of the walls!]

Before we left for the day we learned more of the "diskie" dance with all the kids! It is so much fun to learn from them. I think they like teaching it and I like learning from them. I also think It is entertaining for them because whenever I look up from my very "skilled dance moves", they are laughing at me! hahaha So I'm assuming that I am butchering a dance move and making a complete fool of myself. But hey, TIA right? That's what I keep telling myself anyhow.

So today started out not promising with the way I was feeling, but by the end of the day I was feeling great. I am thankful for the weekend, however, because I definitely need to recharge my batteries! I would say our whole group is pretty exhausted so please pray for strength and good health for next Tuesday. Tomorrow, (Saturday) we are going to Durban for shopping in the morning and maybe also to beach it up if the sun is shining. After that, our group at Ethembeni is planning on going to a soccer, aka "futbol" game, with Kakhla, Zwe, Claire, and Nanklhanhla (The staff and some of our mentors from the family center) tomorrow afternoon! I am so excited to go to my first soccer game and the coolest part is...it is at the world cup stadium called "moses mabhida." This stadium looks surreal.. and I am pumped to hang out with everyone and have some more bonding experiences!! Check out this sweet picture of the stadium!!

Prayer Requests:
-Ethembeni is struggling to have sufficient funds to pay the employees and keep running the full 5 days a week... startin April 1, they will be open only 3 days of the week instead of 5 days, which means that employees are struggling to have enough salary to support their families and it has a ripple effect on the community including all the children and their lives at home. For some teenage moms, this may mean that they will have to skip school to take care of their child during those days... and for some children, it may mean that they might not have meals for the day. This is heart breaking to think about but please pray for Ethembeni family center and the clinic to have faith that God will provide in unimaginable ways.
love, jamie

Day 4- productive day!

This morning we left an hour earlier than we normally do in order to attend the community prayer time. I am so glad that I was able to see this. We all filed into this clinic building that is about a 10 minute walk from the family center (where we are at every day). We go in and I see about 50 people sitting down and we end up lining up in the front of the room while two of the staff members at Ethembeni family center read from the zulu bible. As they read, I was observing my surroundings. There were young kids, a few teenagers, and middle-aged and elderly/handicapped people spread throughout the whole room. I think they were wondering why 7 white kids were standing at the front of the room, because we stick out like a sore thumb in this community. But, nonetheless, it didn't keep them from having their devotional time. After the verse was read, one woman starting to sing and the rest followed. It was very beautiful and as everyone sang in isiZulu, we started going around the room shaking everyone's hands. It was a cool experience to do this, and everyone was smililng. I believe the song they were singing was something along the lines of, "We are dancing...." It was short and sweet and I am glad that I was able to see what their community devotional time was like every Wednesday morning.

After this, we walked back to the family center and went into our routine of playing with the kids! But this time about half of us went to finish our map mural. We made so much progress today and nearly finished it all! It looks great!! Some of the staff, Khlaka and Claire, helped us paint today too and it was cool to make it a teamwork effort.

This morning I helped cook in the kitchen again, and while in the kitchen, I had the chance to talk with Nanklanhala. Now, I really struggle with this name and cannot say it for the life of me, and she laughs at me too when I try. So I made up a nickname for her that she approved...I call her "nany" She is 22 year old woman and has such a bubbly personality! She has grown up in Mpophomeni (the community we are in) and it has been so fun to get to know her. As we were both chopping up veggies for the afternoon meal for the kids, we chatted about rap music artists and jammed/danced to songs on her phone! haha.. I also asked her some more personal questions about some of the home visits and mentoring that she does to families in the community, which is part of her job here as a staff at Ethembeni. She said that it is hard sometimes to go to these homes and see how much need there is... She also mentioned how there are sometimes abuse cases dealing with rape and how that is a big issue here. The worst part too, is that the rape is by a family member... I cannot even imagine... It hurts to know that in many of these cases, the kids do not have anywhere else to go to leave there problem. So it was interesting and hard to hear some of the things she talked about, but I was thankful that I was able to hear it from her perspective, from a young woman who has grown up in these streets and is making a difference by mentoring/reaching out to these families.

After this, I had my home visit with my mentor, Samke! Just seeing her today, I can see she is starting to get a little bit more comfortable with me. The language barrier is still tough and made my home visit a little difficult as well. We walked down the street for about 10 minutes until we got to the home. We walked in and sat down and they talked in isiZulu for most of the time, but I heard a few english words in there too. I believe this man (25 yrs old) has lost his parents and grandparents in the past few years and is responsible for 4 younger kids in the household. He has no job and is struggling to provide for the family. Samke wrote down pieces of information that he said in her notepad and I believe that this was some sort of check up that will be brought forth to Ethembeni to see if they can donate money to him and his family. But I am in the process of figuring out how all of this works.

But all in all, it was a good day with playing with the kids and growing in relationships!
Prayer Requests: Pray for our team to be energized for tomorrow (we are getting very exhausted from these long days), to be focused on whatever direction God ultimately has for us during our days there. Many times, our group tries to decide beforehand our plans for the day, but I pray that God will be the ultimate decision maker and that we are open to being flexible to his greater plans. Pray for God to be the center of our focus during our projects and as they are being completed to give all the glory to him and not to the work of our hands... For he gave us the hands and the opportunity to work here!
Thanks you guys! Love and miss you!!!
<3 Jamie

And so the bonding begins!

(Above: The little girl's name is Synothanda!! The first day we met her, she was shy and distant.. today she was filled with smiles and wanting to be held!!)
Wow! So today was day 3 at our service site. In a nut shell, it was a day filled with laughter, tears, getting pee on my shirt, dirtied clothes, and the beautiful start to deeper bonds and relationships with the staff and kids at Ethembeni. With all of that, I could not have asked for a better day.

This morning, we continued with our usual routine of playing with the children. My goodness, I cannot get enough of them! They are so cute!! It is amazing to see how far we've come along with memorizing there names. There very "difficult to pronounce" names, I might add. So the time usually flies when we are playing with them because we, too, are having so much fun.

Today, I met my mentor named, "Samke." She is a very sweet, shy 40 yr.old woman. I helped her with the cooking that needed to be done today. We chopped up vegetables for the beef curry rice dish that they served all the kids later that day. During this time, I had a chance to get to talk with her a little bit and get to know her. But at times, I found that it was a little awkward because she was very shy and couldn't fully understand me and the questions I was asking her. However, little did I know that things would change in the hours to come ;) I am very excited for tomorrow because I will be alongside her as we go to a home visit in the community. (The boy above is one of my favorites ((even though I love them all)).. His name is Tukelo!!)


Throughout the morning, also, we were working on our world map mural to add an "educational and informational" aspect to the four walls in the main room. We struggled a little bit with sizing the countries and spreading it evenly across the whole wall, but it worked just fine! We then added in the verse, John 3:16, in isiZulu. IsiZulu is one of the many languages they speak in South Africa. It was exciting to make progress on this mural... Now we are going to start painting in the countries within the next few days! (The girl in the pink is Claire, our very helpful social worker from England!!)

Now during the time that the kids were eating, we gathered up the staff to play a game with our group. It is a big goal for our team, to mesh both the staff and ourselves as we are serving these kids at Ethembeni. In order to do that fully, we thought that it would be great for some bonding to occur! What better way to bond than to play some fun games! And the cool thing was, we wanted to share with the staff what we were planning on doing with the kids in the afternoon and wanted them to be a part of it, also. The first game we played involved two teams. And each time had to try and make the longest line with their bodies, clothes, shoe laces, etc. You could use anything that was on your body to make the longest line. So all of us layed our bodies across the floor and used material on our body to make the line that much longer. There was much laughter involved as we were covered in dirt. After we announced the winner, we told them the bigger picture of this game and what it represents. The game is suppose to teach us that if we use the resources we have in front of us, we are able to accomplish big things and go far in life.
The other game we played invovled everyone being side-by-side (very close) and one individual in the center. There would be an object being passed around the backs of everyone in the circle in secrecy. The individual in the center would have to point at someone and guess who had the object in their hands at that specific time. After the person in the center would guess, they would show there hands to display the truth. This was a VERY FUN game and EVERYBODY loved it!! Also, my mentor, Samke, really started breaking out of her "shy" shell and was laughing hysterically! This game really allowed bonding to take place!
(Above: Alex, Cynthia, and I loving every moment of being surrounded by these kids!!)

Then a bunch of the kids started showing up after school was let out. I enjoyed this afternoon so much because we played the same games that we played with the staff and the kids loved it! They were a little confused with the "resource/make a long line" game but loved the circled one with the object behind your back. I had a moment, while playing the game, where I could not stop smiling because I was soaking up the moment. It is so amazing that we can come together with these kids, not being able to understand them fully, and enjoy a game like this with so much laughter and smiles. It was definitely one of my highlights so far being here.

After the game ended, everyone gathered in the main room to learn the "Diski Dance." Now this is no ordinary dance. It is the dance that millions of people in South Africa, both young and old, will perform while watching the world cup this summer! It is huge here, apparently! And so a bunch of us tried learning with all the kids. The music turned on and everyone simultaneously danced the "Diski dance." I was having so much fun and being a goof ball trying to learn the dance moves. So many of these kids have rythym.. and I just don't. haha That's the truth. So I was just going with it and having a ball!

I definitely could not have imagined a better day! I am so happy and blessed to be at Ethembeni and am always looking forward to the days to come and see how God will work!

Refreshing weekend, LONG MONDAY

This weekend was so lovely because I was able to relax and re-gain energy for this coming week. On Saturday morning, I slept in which felt amazing because we are usually starting our days at 7:30 am and then had quiet time which I am learning to love here. I have made it a task to reflect in my journal as often as possible because I know I will love to look back after this semester is over to see my thoughts on paper. I find that I learn a lot when I write it down on paper, surprising huh? At 9 am, 10 of us girls ran/walked to this adorable cafe and ordered a fluffy drink! Getting a fruit smoothie or a cappuccino was our motivation and in the process, we treated our bodies right by moving them =] The rest of the day I relaxed and layed out by the waterfall, which is one of my favorite places on campus. I usually bring my ipod and journal and spend a few hours down there. It is beyond refreshing because there is a light mist that surrounds you the entire time. And Saturday night a few of us attempted to see the movie, "Shutter Island," with the famous Leonardo DiCaprio, but it was sold out unfortanately : / I was very upset! But hopefully I'll get a chance to see it soon!

Sunday was also a very relaxing day! It was a rainy weekend and is supposed to be throughout the week! I spent the majority of the day working on an art project that I did a fine job with procrastinating on. So I finished up majority of my project on Sunday, which was great. On Sunday night, my team from Ethembeni went out to dinner at this delicious italian restaurant. I love spending time with them and we had an opportunity to discuss our goals for the week and also get to know each other on deeper levels... just talking and laughing! It was a grand 'ol time!!

All day Monday, today, we had class! But before class we had chapel, which we have on mondays and fridays. I really look forward to chapels here. I love the worship songs we sing and how it is run by my peers. Today, we brought leaves to the foot of a mini cross in the room to signify bringing our shame and burdens to the cross and reflecting on how amazing and exalted our God is and should be. It definitely helped to set my mood for the rest of the day.

The days when we have classes from 8am to 8pm are pretty brutal, not going to lie.. However, the thing that gets me through is knowing that I have service sites for the rest of the week! Tomorrow my group is heading to Ethembeni again and we are all so excited for the week to come. Please pray for Alex, one of the girls in my group, who is sick. She's been resting up these past two day in hopes of feeling healthy by tomorrow morning. Please also pray for our group to be productive with the goals we have set for the week and also for our group to be able to represent and show to the community that God is our Rock and firm foundation, and that through him all things are possible.

A sad thing happened this past week also...
Our professor for our Community Engagement Class, Francis, had a death in the family two days ago. His brother died and it seemed rather sudden and he was contemplating not attending the funeral in Kenya because he wanted to stay here with us during this week to help with our service sites and said it was a critical time for us. After some persuasion, he decided to go and leaves tomorrow. Please pray for him and his family (He has 18 other siblings I believe). He is such a wonderful man who is always so positive and a light wherever he goes.

Alright, well expect a new entry tomorrow after our third day at Ethembeni! I cannot wait to see those little munchkins! I cannot believe that I am missing them so much! I find myself talking about them whenever I am around the others in my group just to laugh and bring up stories about them!!

<3 Jamiee Lee

I am falling in love with ethembeni.

Today was simply AMAZING! First of all, I just want to put it out there that I am beyond blessed with the group God has placed me with. I love that I get to go and spend all day with them: Cynthia, Eli, Alyssa, Alex, Rob, and Kailey. So today was a great day because as soon as we arrived at the family center, it felt so comfortable to right away go into the playroom and greet and play with all the kids! The kids were so excited to see us and we felt the same way about them =] It is so exciting because I am starting to remember their names and call them by it when I am playing with them. I feel like it really personalizes my relationship with them when I can call them by it also. All of them melt my heart so much and they love to just sit in your lap and cuddle right next to you. I can tell that they are just soaking up all of this attention and it feels so right to give them an out poor of love. One of my highlights this morning was playing wish a girl named, simanthanda I believe, and as I was carrying and walking around the room with her, she fell asleep with her head nestled in my neck. I melted right then and there haha! So today we played with them for a few hours and then we got some serious work done.


One of our goals for the day was to take pictures of all the kids so that we can print them off this weekend and decorate them all over the walls. So we accomplished that task today also. It was a great day of bonding and developing a deeper connection with these kids. I am really starting to care deeply for them and it is only the second day. I can only imagine that my love for them is going to grow more and more these next 3 weeks. I love seeing their big beautiful smiles on their faces! The darling girl to the left's name is Sisanta (sisa for short) and she is a crazy girl, but I adore her!!)

One of the projects that ethembeni wanted us to work on was clearing out one of the storage rooms to make it a therapy playroom in the future... The only issue is that this room is also their storage room for a lot of miscellaneous items. Because they always have stuff in here, it has not been able to be utilized. So today, we had a big clean out and organizing day of this room and another storage room and tried throwing a lot of unnecessary items away and making room in the other room. So we made a lot of progress with organizing and trying to open up a room for them to use in the future. Also the other project today was organizing the office area, so a few of us worked on that too! After working on this for a few hours, we ate lunch, and then went straight back to playing with the little munchkins!

This boy in the picture is 17 and goes by the name, "church," because he wants to be a pastor one day. He is a fun and upbeat guy! I am excited to get to know him and a bunch of the other older kids these next few weeks!! He asked if we could take a picture together and was all happy about it too! It was super cute!

A fun encounter that I had with one of the girls out by the playground, miyabonga I believe, was that she started playing fun games with me one on one by clapping our hands together and reciting a song as she did it. She was teaching me how to do it and then taught me a few other ones. Even though I couldn't understand her from the language barrier, we still were able to laugh and get to know each other by being silly. I really loved this.

Playing and interacting with the kids and people at Ethembeni has been more fun and precious than I could have ever imagined. I am so blessed and happy that God has placed me here! I could not have asked for anything better than to serve God's children and alongside brothers and sisters in christ wanting to be servants to glorify God's name.
Love, Jamie
ps. This boy in the picture below's name is spesihile and I adore him so much! Ok, I adore them all.. I just wanted another excuse to put another darling photo of one of our ethembeni kids!! : )
Prayer Requests: Pray for endurance again and also to continue utilizing the time we have when we are at the site to make progress on projects, for all the kids and staff's safety this weekend and that we will all be healthy when we see them next Tuesday. Also, to continue recognizing where our fulfillment and strength is coming from and to lift up Him in all ways! Thanks so much!!When it came time to say goodbye as we left the family center, every kid was waving goodbye!