5:45am: Wake up. Not to an alarm, but to the sound of a high school cafeteria 5 ft. away from my window. Nae Nae.
6:00am: Go to the children’s house which is approx. 50 ft. away from our house.
6:00am-7:00am: Bathe babies. Tears because it’s chilly. New Diaper. New change of clothes. Baby cuddles to warm up. Dance. Dishes. 20-something older children get ready for school. Uniforms. Last minute homework.
7:00am: Walk to school. Brisk. Very brisk some mornings. Laughs, laughs, laughs with my best friends. Drop them off. Everyone stares…everywhere.
7:30am: Spontaneous idea to teach English at the school. Meet the principal. Hugs. Children staring everywhere.
8:00am: Assembly. 800 giggly children because we’re white. Last minute greeting in front of 800 giggly children. High fives. Meet school vendor. Precious older women. Buy fried dough balls for 1Rand (7¢). Nae Nae. Receive free fries (in Lesotho they are called chips). Walk to the gas station. Buy sprite for the school vendor AKA me and Lydia’s new best friend. Walk back to school.
8:40am: Teach English. Passive voice and active voice. “Yes teacha, yes teacha, we undastand techa.” -the students. Game.
9:20am: Teach English again. Repeat.
10:00am: Walk home.
10:10am: Time with Jesus. Most important.
11:00am: Clean. Eat “breakfast/lunch.”
12:00pm-2:00pm: Free time. Kill giant spider in room. Play with babies. Take a walk. Take in God’s beautiful creation around me that I still can’t believe is my home. Meet new people. Whatever else we feel lead to do. Of course, nae nae.
2:00pm: Children are home from school. Overjoyed. Their lunch time. Homework maybe. Soccer, play time, hugs, so many laughs, so much love. “What do your tattoos mean?” Explain. Make sure they know how much Jesus loves them. JOY JOY JOY. Climb the tree to pick raspberries. So good. No idea why.
3:00pm: Play with PUPPIES! So dirty. The cow is probably loose in the yard and the kids are chasing it.
3:30pm: Spikeball. Yes….spikeball. Praise. Constantly telling the children it isn’t a trampoline.
4:00pm: A truck with massive pots of food arrives. House mother says it’s for the dogs. We shovel it from the pots to the dogs house. Secretly eating it. It’s so good. No idea what it is. The children make me promise not to tell. Belly laughs because we’re all so hungry and eating food that is supposed to go to the dogs. Sneak it to the babies inside. LOVE LOVE LOVE. JOY. Awestruck at God’s beauty in these children.
5:00pm: Baby baths. Do homework. Maybe. Laughs. Constant jokes.
6:00pm: PJ’s. Dancing, dancing, dancing.
6:30pm: Dinner. Music.
7:00pm: Get ready for bed. Sweep. Mop. Clean. Stop to appreciate the broom I had at home with an actual handle. Sadness because we are a night apart from more time together the next day. Sweet bedtime song reminding them how much Jesus cares for each of them.
This place is so special to me. My heart has been snatched by each of these children and I miss them after even a few hours of being apart. They are my best friends! Please, please pray for them so unceasingly for these next 3 weeks! I’ve said this before, but God truly is moving here in Maseru, Lesotho. Attached is a link for a fundraiser we have set up. The children’s school does not receive public funding and their learning environment is not very healthy. Their orphanage has also not received any funding for this year yet. Please share this link in as many ways as possible- tell your neighbors, friends, share on social media, pray for the funding to come in! Even $1 will help SOOOO much! Thank you in advance!
https://funds.gofundme.com/dashboard/funds-for-renovation-orphanage
With love.
