Yesterday afternoon I sat on the back patio reading my fitness magazine, and I really felt that I was at home. My mom and I often will go out to our back patio just to sit in the sun and read; many times that turns into a great nap time. I love that time because I feel that my mom and I are closer by just sitting with each other. I felt that same peace as I sat on the patio of my house in Jbay. The one small difference on my Jbay patio were all the pink and red clothes that were swaying in the wind. Since we arrived here we have been doing laundry. So picture 13 girls with four weeks of dirty clothes, that is a lot of clothes blowing in the wind each day. The washing machine has truly been a blessing.
Yesterday was also the day that we started introductions to the ministries that we could work with this year. I felt both overwhelmed an excited about where I was going to work. Today I realized that I need to trust God in where I am going to work and not just my feelings. A woman named Matilda took us on house visits yesterday through two of the townships, Pellsrus and Tokyo Sexwale. Matilda is the feistiest old woman I have ever met, crammed into the body of four foot eleven person. Despite her lack of height and strength she has the biggest heart. She goes from house to house talking and praying with people, mostly people that are HIV positive or have TB. Going into this visit I did not think that I was going to enjoy going into peoples homes, but I felt my heart changing. The one person that continues to come to mind was a girl about my age. This girl is 24 with a small baby and she is HIV positive. They live in a tiny room off the back of someone’s house. She does not have any family around here and her boyfriend left her when he found out that she was HIV positive. The fact that she even told him she was sick is a huge deal. People all over Africa hide the fact that they have AIDS because they are ashamed.
This weekend we have to pray about where we are going to do our ministries and I am both nervous and excited. I can’t wait to start connecting to people in Jbay.
