Day #2 on the worksite… We arrived early, rested and eager to get started on another day of “bricking,” now experienced with trowels, scaffolding, dugga, well-versed in the differences between white and red bricks... so proud of yesterday’s accomplishments and confidently expecting that day #2 would be a carbon copy of day #1. But God had a surprise in store: wind. Big wind. Strong wind. Incessant wind. Even the wrap-around professional construction goggles distributed to the team by Pat (Welch) were no match for the dust swirling and constantly blowing. Brown dust on everything and everywhere. The more fair skinned among us actually looked like we had our first golden bronze tans.
Our work site is no more than 100 yards from acres and acres of poverty unlike any we have ever witnessed. Hundreds and hundreds of South Africans living in shacks (structures that our Chester County farmers would not house chickens in), many of whom are AIDS orphans. But when the Hopewell team has finished bricking, one of those family units will have a dry, safe, 4 room home, replete with beds. God is so good.
Aunt Suzie visited our worksite today! Of course everyone who knows what a ball of fire Aunt Suzie is will not be surprised to learn that after giving out hugs to all on the HUMC team, 77 year old Aunt Suzie took control, and then started hauling bricks and distributing dugga to every scaffold unit – both of which are very heavy. We are looking forward to the time we will spend with Aunt Suzie and her elderlies. We are taking them a bag of Hershey chocolate candies, and we are told that Aunt Suzie will monitor how fast the candy is eaten because the ladies don’t quite know when to stop!
And now we all need to retire for the evening… getting up for early church in Ikageng.
--Deb Boyd
No comments:
Post a Comment