WIld things

So, I saw the Movie "Where the Wild Things Are" with Olivia yesterday, I liked it, it was a very sweet and fun movie. Definitely for those of us who loved to imagine and dream as kids.It reminded me of some "wild things" that I met in Africa. I don't know what it is about naughty children, but I find them to be a tiny bit more precious than the good ones. Don't get me wrong there's nothing better than a well mannered child (and I certainly was one), but there's just something about taming a "wild thing" that is special

It specifically reminded me of this wild thing. He's Mama Marie's baby from this post. (I wish I could take credit for this photo, but one of the women on the team took it, and its definitely my favorite picture from the trip!) I love this kid! He's definitely a mama's boy and until the last two weeks of my trip he could not be pried from his mother's arms without screaming like a banshee.

I developed a three pronged system to tame him, though. It involved feeding him various fruits like he was an Arabian sheik, then never standing still, keeping him in constant motion, and finally humming several classic rock songs in succession in a low and comforting tone.

The sweetest thing, though, is when a "wild thing" after all the wild struggling falls asleep in your arms, and even though this kids was hefty to begin with, and completely a dead weight when sleeping it was lovely to hold him and kiss his chubby cheeks, and enjoy his peaceful face while he was sleeping.

I don't really have any great spiritual truth or lesson learned from this, just that a wild thing tamed is a precious thing. Until they wake up, that is : ) Mama Marie actually asked me to take him back to America with me in a fit of exhaustion, I said no mostly because I don't think there are enough fruits and classic rock songs to keep this kid calm on a 16 hour flight!

My 16 year old pregnant girl

This is "my 16 year old pregnant girl" I love her. This girl is such a sweetie, she doesn't really speak any English, but she stole my heart. She told me through a translator that she didn't know who the father was, and later on it came out that her mother was making her go out and sell herself, and then taking all her money.

Ugh...it makes me so sad. So, I gave her a supply of prenatal vitamins, but what I really want to give her is a sense of self worth. She has such a servant's heart, she doesn't go to school, but she helps Mama Bonkiwe (of the clau clau feeding scheme) with preparing food, and then she helps serve the food in the afternoons, she gets a little money from that, but her mother takes it all : ( It makes me mad, and it makes me really really sad.

My heart is especially tender towards pregnant people, I love the miracle of birth, and so many times in depressed areas the women and children are the ones who get neglected. Part of what I would like to do in the future is to train health advocates in prenatal care, and childbirth. Right now, though, at this very moment, I wish that I could take this girl home with me and spoil her, and let her know how special and lovely she is. I wish I could sit next to her again and tangibly remind her that she is beautiful and worthy of love, that she deserves more.

Back in the USA

So, I am back home, and still adjusting to living in the States. I miss all the kids. Alot. More than I thought I would. I miss the mamas. I miss this:


This was a favorite passtime of the kids in Clau Clau, me taking video of them being crazy and then they all gather around to watch it on my little camera screen. They all loved to be the one to press the "play" button.

This kid below in the blue shirt LOVES to take pictures with my camera! He did a good job too!
Here's a picture he took of me, which isn't particularly flattering, I don't think I'll every wear that sweatshirt again. So, this sounds super corny and sentimental, but when I look at this picture that this kid took of me, whose name I can't even pronounce, much less spell : ) I feel the love that he has for me. I don't even know why this kid loves me, but I know for sure that he does, and I don't know why this unflattering picture makes me feel so loved, maybe because when I handed him my camera that was the first picture he took, and kept taking pictures of me until I encouraged him to turn his attentions to the much more photogenic children and mamas.

All I know is this: those kids taught me so much about love, they also left me with alot of questions. Like why was I born in the States to two parents who love me and were able to protect me. Why have I been blessed with so much and these kids have so much to overcome. I've always felt like there is nothing I can't do, and these kids have no garuntees that they are even going to be able to make it to 4th grade, much less university. Those are questions, I'm sure, that have been asked before by people smarter than me, and I don't have any good answers. I know, though, that me feeling guilty won't solve anything, and help or "charity" given out of guilt rarely does anyone any good.

I'm not sure exactly what that will look like, but I have to believe that I've been given me these overwhelming opportunities, and blessings, and resources, so that I can make the lives of people who have been given nothing better. A lot of times people will say something to the effect that I am a special person to go and do things for other people, but you have to know that the rewards are so tangible and so ginormous, that there is no sacrifice involved for me, its not like I'm some Martyr or something (and HELLO I am enjoying all the first world comforts of America right at this very moment one of which being the iphone) This is definitely a passion, and I can't think of any other way that I'd rather be living. So, just know that I am nothing special, and I am blessed beyond what I could ever earn or deserve.
(I know this is a big relief, because you were totally thinking Michelle is Awesome and how can I devote more hours in my day to pondering her awesomeness ; )

If you are going to ponder anyone ponder Princess and her sister Bongi, who takes princesses bossing with grace and loveliness that I can only aspire to : ) Sorry this pic is so blurry, but I just love bongi's expression even though princess is hogging the shot, she's stealing the show : )

So, I have about a zillion photos and stories to tell, I hope that you will stay tuned because I am planning on keeping up with posting even after I've exhausted all my Africa adventures. I am definitely not ever going to stop having adventures, and I hope I will always be able to share them with you.

This is a short one

Hey guys! The team is here and I don't have any time to post!!! Just wanted to let you know I'm not dead, and also I will be posting some AWESOME posts once I get home! Love you all, and see some of you soon!

A better post : )

I am in Swaziland right now taking a little break, so I will try to do a few posts with pictures : ) I am working on health education posters, which I am mostly drawing freehand with some tracing, and then coloring in with my trusty crayola 24 pack. This is me with the first poster I finished. Its about dental health, the other ones that I am doing are nutrition, fire safety, baby care, keeping your body safe from HIV/AIDS, and not getting an infection when you get your head shaved....so several topics of which I am now an expert!?!?!?

Here is a picture of a chicken, this is for my mom, because before I left I told her that there were no chickens in Africa, because I wanted her to make eggs for breakfast one morning. She believed me, so just in case there's any confusion there are plenty of eggs and chickens in Africa!

Below are two pictures of my baby and my baby mama. I love them. She is due to graduate high school soon, but she needed a scientific calculator so we got one for her : ) I wish I could take this baby home. I have cried twice just thinking about leaving her.This next one is a picture of princess she is Mama Bongiwe's daughter and she's the boss of me. Don't let her precious face deceive you, this child is the boss of everyone who comes around including her own parents and her sister. She is a benevolent dictator, though, and usually allows me to hold my baby (who she thinks is her baby), and she does have a very precious face
: )I love her. I am so sad to leave all these kids, but at least I will be leaving them worm free!! I purchased 100 deworming pills and I'm going to enlist some of the team that's coming from the USA next week to help me deworm all the children!! I'm sooo excited.

This is not an exciting post

Sorry, I'm not on my laptop so I don't have any fun pictures, but on Wednesday or Thursday I'm going to try to go to the internet cafe and post some exciting stories with pictures! I am still busy checking the children at the 4 ministry sites, we are contemplating deworming the kids in Clau Clau (the feeding scheme) and Msokwaba (the church without a roof), so thats something to look forward too : ) Deworming is actually less gross than it sounds, as it involves administering an oral medication (sorry to dissapoint those who were hoping for pictures of me wrassling a worm!!)

Lets see...what else? On Sunday in one of the churches we attended the pastor complimented me for singing along when they sing in their language, so that was funny. Whats really funny is I have no idea what I'm singing....the songs are just easy to follow and I'm used to hearing them : ) Honestly we could be singing Anti-American propaganda and I wouldn't be the wiser!!! That is the church that meets under a tent, and there is a precious kid at this church who always winks at me : ) He, apparently was impressed with my willingness to talk sports with him at length when we first met, and now I can do no wrong in his eyes!!! Maybe I should try this with eligible bachelors??

I've spent the most time with the kids in Clau Clau, so they are especially precious to me, and I find myself thinking about them a lot! I can picture each of their faces and their crazy names!! My favorite crazy name from last week was Events....I wonder what it was about his conception or birth that earned him that name?? I was reading in the paper today about some criminals convicted on some crime or another, and one of the names was Innocent!! I found that to be deliciously ironic, and have already started filing away names for my own future children!

Well, this post is getting too long without pictures so I will sign off for now, and I promise I'll have some good stories in a few days for you : ) Thanks for all the comments, I LOVE them!!!

Sorry it has been so long since I’ve written a good blog! I’ve been busy checking the children in all of our projects. Mostly at Good Hope feeding scheme, which is another way of saying feeding program, I guess. This is a village project run by a woman and her husband, Mama Bongiwe. They feed over 90 children each week, one meal a day after school. Mercy Medicine brings supplies when needed and looks after the health of the children. Once weekly on Fridays the children have a bible based program which is taught by Mama Thule, Mama Bongiwe also holds services each Sunday in the small “church” building. These children are either orphaned or abandoned and from poverty stricken homes.

Here’s a picture of Mama Bongiwe, that’s not her baby, she looks after this baby while the baby’s mom is in school. Whenever we go there they say to Janice and I “Here’s your baby”, because one of us is always holding her while we are there! Here’s a picture of me checking one of the children, his name is Doctor, which I didn’t realize until they handed me his assessment sheet, and I thought people were calling him Doctor as a nickname!

There’s another boy named Surprise at this project, and a girl named “Pretty”!! I think that’s very cheeky to name your kid Pretty, especially if she ends up growing up to be ugly!! So far I’ve checked almost 100 children. This week we are going to Good Hope a few extra times so I can finish assessing all of them, and then I will have the 2 churches to finish and Msokwaba, which I’ve told you a little about already! The goal is to have a baseline assessment for Janice to build on once she gets the mobile clinic, and also to kind of know what sort of health problems she will be dealing with, and what kinds of treatments she can have on board.

On Saturday we went to Moholoholo nature reserve which is basically an animal rescue program and I got to pet a cheetah! Janice and I were in line together so I didn’t get a picture of either of us petting it, but here’s a pic of some random South Africans petting it!

Here’s a pic of a baby rhino too, he can’t poop, poor thing. It’s a very cool place and you can look it up online, the founder spoke to us, and it was really cool to see the animals that close! When the team comes we are going to take them there, and I’m already looking forward to it! Make sure to scroll down, there’s another blog under this one! I'll be adding pics tomorrow when I have a better internet connection, for now you'll just have to use your imagination : )