Most of them have come from backgrounds that would make you sob if you knew. Trust me, I have shed many a tear over the misery that they so readily remember (click here for a surface-level peak into a few of their pasts). In some cases, I've witnessed the misery first hand.
NOW, I want to take a second and show you one fine example of how these children are being given futures FAR beyond their origins.
It's been a good long school break thus far (almost 4 weeks in full) and tomorrow we have our last activity for the break - a trip out to Spitzkoppe. We have year-round school here, which basically means that the school-break times are divided into 3 breaks a year. This one was particularly long - almost a month. So, we decided to make the best of it. With the Fauntroys coming during this time, we had a little extra help for the 1st 2 weeks. Thanks Pat & Tori!Here are some of the things that we did with the children:
1- Bible/Worship/Prayer times 2x a week
2- Sports/Activities times 2x a week
3- Library and reading times, with a reading competition. 11,298 pages were read by the 40 children we have here in Arandis!
4- Clubs/Classes including:
......a. Explorer's Club (science stuff, volcanoes to be precise)
......b. Mini-theatre Club (they constructed a story/play, with a scrolling painting to go with it - very very cool and fun)
......c. First Aid Class (learning basic first aid methods)
......d. Garden Club (learning how to grow vegetables in the desert)
......e. Baking Club (baked brownies, cookies, apple pie, etc.)
5- 3 Movie nights at the town's amphi-theatre
6- Dance Camp (taught by Kailey, Tori, and Pearl) + a Dance Concert for the community
7- Field Trips to:
......a. Spitzkoppe
......b. The beach at Swakopmund
......c. The sand dunes between Swakopmund and Walvis Bay
8- Girls Only Club - which also meets regularly with Karrie during the school terms to talk about spiritual, emotional, social, and physical issues relevant to 11-13 year old girls here in Namibia.
WHEW! I'm tired. But it has all been worth it. There was a time when these kids would have been roaming the streets during school break, making up their own "fun". Several of the children have a history of stealing, violence, abuse by opportunistic predators, etc. - before coming into our foster families. This life they are living now is so VERY different than what they knew before! I praise God daily for that!!!
Now, to reach more of them...
Check out our photo album for the Holiday Club at the following link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=111558&id=690603766
2 comments:
What a blessing you all are to these kids! And at the same time we are sure you are just as blessed to be able to share God's love with them. It is so great to hear your stories!
Blessings,
The Holsinger Gang
Just catching up on your blog - praying for your family today - May God continue to bless you. Judy Martin
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