A Day of Mixed Emotions

Today was a day full of mixed emotions.  This morning we went to the Mosaic Crèche.  For some of us, this was our first opportunity to meet with the children from this preschool; all of them are either infected or affected by HIV/AIDS.  The moment we stepped out of the van, the children were all running full speed in our direction, arms wide open.  I opened my arms to one of them, and he jumped from about three feet away, just about knocking me off my feet!  For a while, we just ran with the children, pushing them in the swing, lifting them up on the jungle gym, or pushing them on the merry-go-round.  Later, we all joined together in a big circle, sang songs, clapped our hands, and danced around.  All of the teachers asked how Jen was doing, and gave me something to give her upon my return.  You could tell that they really miss her.

Every time I took a picture, the children would immediately want to see the picture on my camera.  I was amazed at how well they could get around on an iPhone – swiping from picture to picture and even using two fingers to enlarge the pictures.  I also spent some time with the smaller children from the nursery, including one that was rescued by her grandmother from the trash.  After so many days without the rest of my family, I’m not sure who enjoyed the love and hugs more!  It was incredibly overwhelming at times, but I had to remind myself that these were some of the “lucky” ones.  They had wonderful, caring teachers to teach them in a very nice facility.  There are so many children in “the township” that are not offered the same opportunity as the children at the crèche.

After lunch, we went over to the worksite and were pleased to see that the Mosaic workers had finished putting on the roof and were putting the panes of glass in the window frames!  We were so excited to see such progress, we jumped right in!  Today was spent priming the corners of the exterior as well as the perimeter fence.  We were able to put sod down in the front and side yard as well.  Probably the most exciting thing from the worksite today was the installation of the doors.  At the end of the day, we asked where the truck was to load, and we were told that we didn’t have to pack it all away.  We could lock it in the house!  The time has gone so fast; I can’t believe tomorrow is our last day to work on the house!  It has been such a rewarding experience.

--Deb Collins