Today is Sunday June 24th. We are now at the Refilwe Community Project between Pretoria and Johannesburg, South Africa. About 30 of us left Swazi on Wednesday and came here to work and run a camp for a week. We have spent our first few days in training for the camp and performing some tasks that needed to get done around the grounds. Some of our group helped to organize donations, organize food, and clean houses on the property. We have also had some laying tile in homes, filling in dirt for front porch areas and cutting bamboo into fence posts. I was on the bamboo crew. Growing up on a farm gave me experience in working on fences but this was the first bamboo fence I have worked on and the hardest work on a fence I have ever done. We had to find the right thickness and they had to be straight then we would cut them down and drag them up the hill. We then cut them down to an already measured size for the posts. They will go around the geese and goat pins. David, a man who works here on the farm and gave us our directions, said that they will layer the fence with three layers of bamboo to keep out the wind and make it extra difficult to get in to the cages to steal or kill any of the animals. It is winter here in Africa and it is COLD! We are all walking around in layers everyday. The first morning we were here we discovered it was a toasty 47 degrees in our house. We have found ways to keep ourselves warm. Each of us ladies has learned to sleep very close to the ladies on either side of us, I have slept with my fleece on every night. We also have found that socks are helpful for keeping toes warm. The best trick so far though has been the use of hot water in a Nalgene bottle. We each fill up our bottles just before bed and then toss it in the sleeping bag with us. It helps to radiate heat which then gets trapped inside our bags while we sleep.
Please pray that God will provide for this coming week of camp. The missionaries here didn’t get to do the usual promotion that they do every year because the public service employees have gone on strike so schools are closed. They have been praying for at least 150 children at this camp. Please pray that the strike will not hinder children from knowing about the camp and coming out to participate. We get to provide meals for every child that attends too. So, not only will the children have a day full of fun with recreation and hear about God through small groups but they will get fed and get to see a little of what Refilwe provides for the area. They will hopefully continue to come after this camp and make use of God’s provision for them through this organization.
