Counting blessings from December. So many people, places, and memories to be thankful for.
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Holly jolly christmas!
Counting blessings from December. So many people, places, and memories to be thankful for.
Thursday, September 22, 2016
I will give thanks in...
A bible study I was doing in Psalms from She Reads Truth back in January prompted me to write out various thanksgivings in different joys & struggles in life. I wrote answers to these back on 01/25/16.
I decided to go back and do it again today 09/22/16, and here's what I got...
I will give thanks in:
-this joyful thing: marrying Doug one month from today!
-this suffering: seeing family struggle
-this certainty: God is the same yesterday, today, forever.
-this stress: Moving and finishing wedding preparations
-this injustice: world orphan and AIDS crisis
-this sorrow: continue to see growth for my sister Promise in her life with mental illness
-this plenty: living (primarily) on savings the past 8 months and seeing how God has stretched my resources
-this want: to grow in Christ and have a soft heart. And to have my family together again soon!
-this wandering: ridding my mind of false thinking
-this waiting: to be near Doug again (soon!)
Monday, June 20, 2016
Snapshot of life in Cali
These are some highlights from the first week of California livin'. We picked blueberries last week and played on that super fun huge teeter totter (even sister and I got on it!!) and we set up my tent in the backyard and the kiddos had several days of fun pretending to be doggies in it.
It's still sinking in that this is home for me now. Yesterday I had some twinges of homesickness... Just missing other family back in MI and dear friends faraway. But I am LOVING being HERE. Just enjoying summer with sister and the kiddos, and bro-in-law too. Eating up the chaos and fun (most of the time anyway) - takes me back to my days at TLC orphanage though on a smaller scale. ;-) I've been doing some reading and exercising, collecting eggs from the chickens, helping with laundry + dishes (two of my favorite chores), taking walks with Scout (their puppy dog), and even starting to make a couple new friends here.
All for now.
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Moving onward.
It's been far too long since I wrote here last. Life has been full and rich in this transitional time of packing up in Michigan to move to Cali. Currently I'm staying a week in Colorado en route to Cali, visiting my special man friend doug in the mountains where he lives and attends seminary. It's beautiful here. More to come soon...
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
TLC week 7...saying goodbye.
i'm writing this post from home. I arrived back about two weeks ago now. Still missing the babies, but embracing all that's in front of me here too. More about that later... For now let me try to re-cap the last week at TLC.
My final week serving at TLC I was on night shift again. It really was a fun week working alongside Anna (Denmark). We worked well together doing the cleaning tasks and getting the laundry done, while simultaneously tending the babies who were awake. We also made a good team planning fun jokes on April fools day!
Each night we would come to the nursery at 7 pm and help finish getting any babies still awake to bed, start the mound of laundry that was usually there waiting for us, and get started on the chores. By 10 or 11 pm we usually had the majority of the cleaning done and would sort the laundry and fold it while we watched a movie :). We would then change nappies and take the preschoolers to the bathroom (to help prevent wet beds), feed the little babies, and make ourselves some hot cocoa and a snack and get back to the laundry. Then we'd organize the clothes and set out outfits and jammies for the next day. By 4 am we would start preparing the morning bottles and prep breakfast and all the kitchen tasks, finish any other chores, and feed any more of the little babies. By 5 some of the babies would begin waking up for the day and usually by 6 (when day shift arrived) we'd have 5-12 babies and toddlers hanging out in the kitchen with us. A couple mornings we turned on a pixar movie for the toddlers to watch, they loved that.... And of course asked for it every morning after that.
We would then walk back, while watching the sunrise, to our cottage to sleep. Several of the days we decided to wake up earlier and go out... One day we went to the local mall and brought two toddlers with us to have lunch and run errands - they loved it! Another day we went hiking at the nearby nature reserve with two toddlers on our backs and after hiking played in the river - I'm not sure who loved it more, them or us!! On that Sunday we went to a local African market to look around and I bought a couple small gifts and we went to a flea market too which was really cool. On the night before April 1st we planned some really fun April fools day jokes... We put nappies (diapers) in the fridge, lotion in the snack cupboard, we hung TP in the kitchen, Christmas ornaments too....best of all we set boy clothes out for the girls and girl clothes for the boys. It was a hoot to see the response from day shift- they said they were smiling all day long as they discovered our jokes throughout the day. ;) Oh we also had a lot of good food that week... I made pancakes and eggs one night, we had chocolate fondue with fruit (thanks to Rebekah and Maddie) another evening, and the second to last night we ordered pizza and had a good ole pizza party!
Finishing the last shift on the morning of April 4 was bittersweet. I said some goodbyes that morning, then went back to finish packing, and take a nap for a couple hours. That afternoon I was all packed and spent some more time in the nursery saying goodbyes to the babies, other volunteers and staff. I took my special little baby for a walk, he fell asleep in my arms. (I told the girls if he went missing that evening they'd know where he went.) I don't like goodbyes...id rather say see you later. But I gave lots of hugs and kisses and did my best to say goodbye well. My heart hurt leaving that day, I know I had loved deeply. My time had been so full and rewarding, and now was drawing to an end. Anne drove me to the airport and I boarded my plane... Good bye South Africa, I hope to see you later!
I'm praying all the babies can be soon with their forever families (or back with their bio families in some cases), oh to be loved by a family, there is nothing quite like it. But for now they have the "TLC family". Thankful for my time with the TLC family again, loving and being loved.
My final week serving at TLC I was on night shift again. It really was a fun week working alongside Anna (Denmark). We worked well together doing the cleaning tasks and getting the laundry done, while simultaneously tending the babies who were awake. We also made a good team planning fun jokes on April fools day!
Each night we would come to the nursery at 7 pm and help finish getting any babies still awake to bed, start the mound of laundry that was usually there waiting for us, and get started on the chores. By 10 or 11 pm we usually had the majority of the cleaning done and would sort the laundry and fold it while we watched a movie :). We would then change nappies and take the preschoolers to the bathroom (to help prevent wet beds), feed the little babies, and make ourselves some hot cocoa and a snack and get back to the laundry. Then we'd organize the clothes and set out outfits and jammies for the next day. By 4 am we would start preparing the morning bottles and prep breakfast and all the kitchen tasks, finish any other chores, and feed any more of the little babies. By 5 some of the babies would begin waking up for the day and usually by 6 (when day shift arrived) we'd have 5-12 babies and toddlers hanging out in the kitchen with us. A couple mornings we turned on a pixar movie for the toddlers to watch, they loved that.... And of course asked for it every morning after that.
We would then walk back, while watching the sunrise, to our cottage to sleep. Several of the days we decided to wake up earlier and go out... One day we went to the local mall and brought two toddlers with us to have lunch and run errands - they loved it! Another day we went hiking at the nearby nature reserve with two toddlers on our backs and after hiking played in the river - I'm not sure who loved it more, them or us!! On that Sunday we went to a local African market to look around and I bought a couple small gifts and we went to a flea market too which was really cool. On the night before April 1st we planned some really fun April fools day jokes... We put nappies (diapers) in the fridge, lotion in the snack cupboard, we hung TP in the kitchen, Christmas ornaments too....best of all we set boy clothes out for the girls and girl clothes for the boys. It was a hoot to see the response from day shift- they said they were smiling all day long as they discovered our jokes throughout the day. ;) Oh we also had a lot of good food that week... I made pancakes and eggs one night, we had chocolate fondue with fruit (thanks to Rebekah and Maddie) another evening, and the second to last night we ordered pizza and had a good ole pizza party!
Finishing the last shift on the morning of April 4 was bittersweet. I said some goodbyes that morning, then went back to finish packing, and take a nap for a couple hours. That afternoon I was all packed and spent some more time in the nursery saying goodbyes to the babies, other volunteers and staff. I took my special little baby for a walk, he fell asleep in my arms. (I told the girls if he went missing that evening they'd know where he went.) I don't like goodbyes...id rather say see you later. But I gave lots of hugs and kisses and did my best to say goodbye well. My heart hurt leaving that day, I know I had loved deeply. My time had been so full and rewarding, and now was drawing to an end. Anne drove me to the airport and I boarded my plane... Good bye South Africa, I hope to see you later!
I'm praying all the babies can be soon with their forever families (or back with their bio families in some cases), oh to be loved by a family, there is nothing quite like it. But for now they have the "TLC family". Thankful for my time with the TLC family again, loving and being loved.
Monday, April 4, 2016
Week 6! (Posted a week late)
Disclaimer: I wrote this last Tuesday but wasn't able to finish and post it until now. I'm leaving today and hope to write more about this past week and my experiences as a whole once I'm home and have some time to sit down and process things more.
I know we're halfway through this week already and I haven't written yet about last week but as I've said before the days are so full here it can be hard to find time to myself or to write. But in a way I love the busyness. It's tiring and really takes all my energy to care for the kids each day and love them well (for the time I'm here with them), but it is rewarding work and most days end with a feeling of fulfillment knowing I hugged a toddler, kissed a newborn, fed a bottle or wiped a snotty nose with love... Small things with great love. I think my time here and the challenges I've faced have been stripping some "ugly" parts of my character away and refining who I am. I came across this quote last week while doing my bible study in Hosea.
"For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ. He is altogether lovely." //Robert Murray McCheyne
In my time here at TLC there's very little time to "look at myself"...there's so many others to look at and look after. And with the daily challenges I am reminded to look to Christ for strength and grace as I carry on in this important work. God is refining me as I care for these little ones (and tiny ones) and using my meager offerings to plant seeds of His love in these little lives.
My time here is drawing to an end soon. It will be bittersweet to leave next week when the time comes. But the little impact I've had here can last even after I say goodbye. I'm so thankful for the 7 weeks here and all the love shared, with the babies and the volunteers I've served alongside.
I know we're halfway through this week already and I haven't written yet about last week but as I've said before the days are so full here it can be hard to find time to myself or to write. But in a way I love the busyness. It's tiring and really takes all my energy to care for the kids each day and love them well (for the time I'm here with them), but it is rewarding work and most days end with a feeling of fulfillment knowing I hugged a toddler, kissed a newborn, fed a bottle or wiped a snotty nose with love... Small things with great love. I think my time here and the challenges I've faced have been stripping some "ugly" parts of my character away and refining who I am. I came across this quote last week while doing my bible study in Hosea.
"For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ. He is altogether lovely." //Robert Murray McCheyne
In my time here at TLC there's very little time to "look at myself"...there's so many others to look at and look after. And with the daily challenges I am reminded to look to Christ for strength and grace as I carry on in this important work. God is refining me as I care for these little ones (and tiny ones) and using my meager offerings to plant seeds of His love in these little lives.
My time here is drawing to an end soon. It will be bittersweet to leave next week when the time comes. But the little impact I've had here can last even after I say goodbye. I'm so thankful for the 7 weeks here and all the love shared, with the babies and the volunteers I've served alongside.
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Highs and lows at TLC - week 5
Highs:
-Tuesday night dinner out at the mall (Life restaurant) with 6 other volunteers. Much laughter and stories were shared
-Wednesday night movie night at our cottage, complete with wine, snacks, and shoulder massages for the ladies who wanted one (by yours truly)
-a returning volunteer (Rachel, from Canada) arrived Tuesday. We served together back in 2007 for a few months so it is fun having her here and getting to know her again
-sunshine!
-going for a run and some good walks
-fun times Sunday morning taking the toddlers to feed the ducks on the farm
-ice cream one day at lunch - nice treat!
-face timed my brother and his family and was able to wish my niece a 5th birthday
-day off on Wednesday - went to the mall with another volunteer and two of the toddlers. We had so much fun having lunch, playing and looking in some shops. They loved riding the escalator and elevator, and drinking from a juice box.
Lows:
-feeling sick again on Saturday all day
-feeling stressed at times with many kids crying/needing attention
Thankful for a really great week again! Good night from South Africa.
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