I have been in Johannesburg South Africa for nearly two weeks now, but it feels like much longer.

I was graciously invited into a house with three women and four children.

Shoshanna (28) is a Canadian lady who volunteered in South Africa from 2004 until 2007 when she moved here. It is her house that we are all living in. She has adopted three children Pamela (5), Sihle (4) and Musa (2). She works as a music teacher but still continues to volunteer and give of her time and resources to TLC and other places. I actually took care of Pamela and Sihle when they were babies when I volunteered at TLC in 2008. It is fun to see how they have grown and flourished under Shoshanna’s loving care.

Keshia is a German/American (24), who also volunteered at TLC, and is now working as a Math and English teacher and pursuing adoption of a very sweet little girl.

Nomusa (29) a South African lady who moved into the house the same week as I did with her son Mario who is 6. She is hoping to go to school this year to become a nursing assistant or a social worker assistant.

We are a group of very different individuals that have actually blended fairly well. Many thanks to Shoshanna and Keshia who have been helping us get settled and things sorted.

The car: I bought a car back in 2008 when I was volunteering here. I left it for other volunteers to use when I went back to the states at the end of 2008. It was used well until this last February where it has sat in Shoshanna’s driveway. Because of the laws of who can own a car in South Africa, there is a lot of paper work that needs to get sorted regarding this, as well as some work needed to be done on the car. It should take a few weeks to get the car up and running but until till then Keshia is kindly letting me use her car when I need to go out.

I’m learning a lot about myself already! I’m getting lots of opportunities to be practice patience and trust in God. Everyone was off for school holidays, so we ran around doing errands, and dropping by TLC visiting babies, and visiting a very sick baby who was in the NICU. It was a great blessing to pray for the little baby who looked like death warmed over, and to see her a few days later doing better in a regular ward. Now they are back to school so this week has looked a little bit different.

There was a chickenpox outbreak at TLC, and we were just waiting for our little ones to get it too! One of the four kids did, so she gets to stay home with me!

I haven’t been able to find out if the Nursing Council is still on strike. Not many people or businesses have message machines, or call waiting, so you just have to call until someone answers. I haven’t gotten a hold of anybody yet after nearly two weeks of trying and three emails. Their office is about an hour’s drive away, so when we have to go that direction for Keshia’s paperwork sometime this month, we will also stop by the office and see what can be done.

I was able to venture out to find the church, GodFirst, that is connected to the church NCC I was a part of in Tacoma, Washington. Driving in Johannesburg makes me nervous. The roads are complicated, the signs are hard to see, I’m unfamiliar with the city and I’m driving on the other side of the road! I set out with plenty of time to get to the church with the address I had found on their website. I had google map directions, a map book and a gps and I still got lost! I also did not have the right address, which didn’t help. I parked and just asked around because I knew they met at a higsh school. About 8 blocks later I found it. I got there a little late and sat in the back. The pastor spoke on living radically for Jesus and forsaking comfort and stability. I cried the whole time! A nice lady handed me some tissues and prayed for me at the end of the service. On my way home using only the GPS, I still got lost!

The little girl that I came to be with is at a place for children with disabilities called Little Eden. They care for around 300 children in two different facilities. The facility I saw is clean, the children are bathed, fed and cared for as well as possible with three staff to 25 children. The staff seems sweet and caring and happy to be there. It is a tough job! Most of the children are in wheelchairs and they are divided into groups by their mental age. The oldest resident in his/her 60’s and the youngest is 18 months. Visitors are welcome once a month. The first week I was here, we were able to schedule a visit of her and another boy we took care of from TLC. The children showed improvement in some areas, and increased difficulties in other areas. The girl clung to any of us who held her, and took about 1 ½ hrs into the visit to be able to relax. She usually sings and repeats words, but was not doing so this time. It was also difficult to make her laugh, when before she would often laugh. Yesterday I was able to have a tour of the facility and inquire about volunteering. Volunteers can come once a week from 8:30-12:30 to help with physical therapy. I’m not sure if I will be able to spend some time with the little girl at all during this time.

I have gone through a lot of different emotions being here. It has been difficult, but not because of physical things. I do however continue to see God’s hand as he opens certain doors, and does little things to help me know that this is where I am supposed to be at this time. I don’t know what the future holds, but I’m taking one step at a time, continuing to trust that God is good and His plans are better than mine.

Thanks for reading! Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers! Sorry for any bad grammar or spelling. I do read over it, but I'm sure I will miss something sometime.

I will try to put some pictures on here later.

You can check out Shoshanna’s blog at http://addingjoyandlaughter.blogspot.com/