Morrison Clan: 1st & 2nd day at the Care Point...Swazi

There is a saying on our trip, "It's not right. It's not wrong. It's just different." This seems like it would be very relevant but so far, I have found that it really is not that different. Yes the kids are all speaking siSwati and many are running around in the same clothes from the day before and barefooted. But I would have to say that is really isn't too different from home. If I do not tell my kids to change their clothes, they probably do not. If I let my kids, they would probably run around barefooted. When they are small, they mind as well be speaking siSwati because I couldn't always understand them. What I have found is that kids are kids no matter where you are. We all brought photo books to help connect with them and just showing them pictures of my family seemed to break the ice on the first day.

Cheryl showing pictures of her family.

When I go over to friends' homes that have foster kids that have been starved for adult attention, they all swarm me and want to get every bit of attention they can. The same is true of the kids here. They want adult attention. They don't seem to notice or mind that we do not speak the same language. They don't seem to care what I say, just that I say something to them.

The preschool teachers have done an amazing job teaching them several things. One thing you can always ask the small kids is, "What is your name?" The answer is, "My name is Renee. I am ___ years old. I am a girl." I love to hear them say it and often will ask them again and again. They love to tell me and will say it again and again. They count with me. They sing "Jesus loves me" and "Jesus loves the little children." They hold my hand, jump in my lap, grab my finger and touch my hair. They love my piercings and laugh asking me to open my mouth, not able to figure out my lip piercing.

I was blowing bubbles with the preschool kids this afternoon. They all have to form a line to get a turn to blow. There was one little boy that never once chased a bubble but just got in line again and again to blow bubbles till there was only one or two other kids in front of me. He consistently got in line to blow. He didn't want to loose his turn and sometimes would push others in line. I would direct him to the back of line each time he pushed. He just keep getting in my line. By the end, I started making it difficult for him to blow by moving the wand around. He was laughing and laughing. It was fun to see him laugh. I had no idea what he was saying to me but we connected through a bottle of bubbles. Thanks Kim for bringing bubbles.

Wendy blowing bubbles with the kids at the Care Point.

I got to go on a home visit after day one at the care point. We walked to a homestead and brought a gift (food). We got to sit on a grass mat outside and introduced ourselves and then prayed over them. We took a few pictures and then walked home. There wasn't much to the visit but it was amazing to visit with them for a few moments. We don't know a lot of details about them but we know that the girl from the care point was living there with her aunt and that she was an orphan.

I helped with the medical team on day one by painting the preschooler's faces after Marty had medically checked them that way we could tell who had been checked. They were so good about forming a line against the wall and waiting patiently for their turn. It was so fun painting their faces. Some the kids would get very excited to get painted and look in the mirror and see their faces and laugh. Some of the kids would barely smile trying to hide the smile, but I knew they loved it. Marty would teach them thumbs up when he was done checking them. Then I would paint their faces and I would give every single kid a thumbs up and they would give one back. Just a few minutes with Marty and they learned thumbs up. That was pretty cool.

Preschoolers lined up waiting to be checked by Marty.

Day two I also helped with the medical team but for the school aged kids. I was checking heads, faces, necks and ears. I was amazed how many kids had really clean teeth with no cavities showing. Most of them looked pretty good and were healthy at a glance. Obviously a quick look over is not very much, but I expected to see more problems then we saw. I got to ask each kid their name and grade as I check them. Even in the few moments I saw them, they would connect to me. Several kids came and hugged me before they left. We didn't get to check nearly enough kids, but I guess some is better than none.

We're back at Asante Guest House (where we are staying) and are going to have pizza with the other team that is here from Georgia as well as some worship time. It will be fun to socialize and hear their stories.

Please continue to pray for our team while we are here.

Pray for rest.
Pray for energy.
Pray we stay connected to His will.
Pray for our families from whom we are separated.

Oh, and to end the very long day one. We discovered a lizard in our bathroom. I probably would have let him stay but I wanted to close the door to take a bath. I tried to enlist the three 12 year old boys, but they all chickened out and Wendy, my lovely roommate came to the rescue, caught him in my PJs & released him outside. I would say that I rather lizards than bugs...but alas there are both. Tonight I was attacked by misquotes as I wrote this blog. For those who do not know, I am very allergic to them. I have six or so VERY large welts on my legs. Oh well...TIA (This is Africa).