I'll Make You a Deal.

Molweni! 

Smiling nice for the camera!

The past couple of days have presented several heart-warming coffee chats. I visited some new grandparents that have moved in down the street. Although granny was quite busy with boxes, moving of furniture and working with builders, we still accomplished a lot in our sporadic bits of conversation. She takes care of her grandchildren during the day, so there were three little ones running around as well. I shared about the girls event that I’m planning for mid-June and she was very supportive and interested in helping. She also donated two dresses, which I got to show some of the girls from youth tonight after net ball practice. The girls took turns holding the dresses up to themselves and dancing around like princesses. The theme for the event is Psalm 139 Princess Shine. So far, the Beauty Academy has committed to doing makeup, Nina’s is catering, several individuals are donating/loaning their dresses out and volunteering their time to help with the event. Woolworths (an up scale superstore) has donated decadent chocolates and another lady is helping with gift bags. I’m ecstatic! Three weeks until the event and now I’m just trusting that all will fall into place.

On a less glittery, but still magnificent note, I have begun my summer class: Fundraising for Nonprofits. Ironically, this class requires that I contact an NPO and ask to develop a fundraising strategy for them. Shouldn’t be real difficult to find! Summer classes are smashed into a concise five week course so I’m hoping that I can finish everything in time before I return to the States. My mother and I will be boarding the plane in five weeks from this upcoming Sunday. Speaking of which, this Sunday I’m sharing my testimony with the congregation. God’s given me a stranger-than-fiction story to share and I’m reminded of His faithfulness and healing power every time I share it.

The boys reading in English and Xhosa

Tonight we had Reading Club at CATCH. We cut out a “make your own” little booklet in the kids section of the newspaper. The words were in English and Xhosa, so I made a deal with the boys. I will help them read it in English, if they help me read it in Xhosa. I’m trying to get my clicks down, and after two story books I was actually starting to catch on. They enjoyed helping me sound out the words (which were ridiculously long). The English parts were over so quickly. English version would say something like, “Athi kicked the ball” and then the Xhosa would be like “ahpu wenzi xhsdlmbgjeolfaijfngoaiefegnoad dfmbonaonef rgadvaefrgv uAthi”. They were patient with me and were great teachers!

The beautiful view

In these last couple of weeks, I’m trying to meet with individuals to write their personal stories and testimonies. Earlier this week I met with the Foster Momma on site and I loved hearing about her life. Although she has a thick accent, after few repeats, we got her life events recorded. Now, I need to hash through my jumbled notes and crank out her smooth life story. She has lived though a lot! Another week down, and I need to start preparing for my mother to arrive! Two weeks…I still have some time. Don’t get too excited now.