Soccer and the Sun

It was another Mommy weekend with Bonga. We went to the beach, and played soccer until it got too warm and then he splashed around until it got too cold. It’s winter here now, so the water is very cold! The sun is nice, but the air and water make for a chilly combination. It get’s quite tricky with Bonga because I’m discovering more and more how little English he understands. After the beach, we went out for lunch. I used the back of the receipt to begin writing the ABCs, I wrote down ABCD… and then gave him the receipt. He looked at it and then copied what I wrote. I asked him, “What comes next?” He shook his head. We have to find very creative ways to communicate.

I was blessed with several Skype conversations with a few important Mommy’s in my life: My Mom, Grandma, and my sister, Mandi. It was so refreshing to chat with all of them- of course I cried during every conversation. Today at church was also a mess because it’s Mother’s Day! We watched a video (one of those dang cute videos that make everyone tear up). It talked about all the precious moments of Mommy hood including all the sad, happy, frustrating and joyful times in raising a child. I was standing in the back because Bonga was over with the other kids coloring and I didn’t want to be too far away. Luckily- I was standing in the back because I just cried and  cried like a five year old after watching that video! Then, all the kids were instructed to come to the front, grab a chocolate and bring it to their Mom. I’m not sure if Bonga understood what it meant, but he grabbed a chocolate and brought it to me anyways. On this special day, even though my heart was really missing my mom, I was happy to share my mothers love with children that don’t have a mother.

I’ve started reading the book Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers and it’s keeping me awake at night! I sneak out of bed and slip downstairs to read more and more. It’s beautifully written, there’s nothing like a good book to get lost in! I’m at the point where I think about returning home more often, but my heart is here. If I let my mind run- I’ll surely start to cry thinking about all the people that I miss and wondering what they’re doing back home. But my time here in SA isn’t over yet and I’m happy to keep going. More adventures await me in these next six weeks!

Love y’all!