Green, rolling hills. Boulders scattered amongst the mountains. Blue rivers and rushing waterfalls. El Shaddai Orphanage is one beautiful place.
The orphanage is situated on a mountain top, so it’s pretty secluded. No paved roads around these parts. It rains here on and off, and when it does rain it creates some issues with the roads… dirt turns into some thick mud (power outages too).
Well, it poured the day we crossed the border into Swaziland. Sometimes, it’s impossible for vehicles to even make it up the mountain on days that it rains. But we prayed and made it up safely! I think Jesus was behind our big van, pushing us up the mountain road, because it was looking pretty grim beforehand.
They have a ton of different ministries for us here in the morning while the kids are in school. Pre-school, baby house, manual labor, feeding and cleaning animals, and intercession to name a few.
I have been doing manual labor all week. I’ve spent a lot of time using the pick-axe and shovel to dig ditches for water lines. We’ve already busted several water lines. Haha. We have made some great progress though.
During the afternoons, we hang out and do homework with the orphans. Most of us have been assigned buddies, ages 6-16. Several of these kids come from a background of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. They’ve dealt with issues no kid should have to deal with.
My buddy is Madida! He is 7 years old and is in Grade 2 (2nd grade). He likes to play marbles, and could possibly be an NFL punter one day if he keeps it up (I have a football, and he can kick the mess out of it). One thing he doesn’t seem to like is homework.
It’s incredibly surprising how behind these kids are. A second grader is at a kindergartener’s level. He knows the alphabet, but does not understand what sounds the letters make. Therefore, he just memorizes words, and can’t really read. He has trouble with words like ‘be’ ‘call’ ‘note’ and ‘the’. He knows how to spell Tyler like a champ though!
The first couple days, Madida would participate and be fine for the first 30 minutes together. After that, he would completely shut off. Like, not talk to me, not look at me. I would even try to switch to playing, switch up routine, and still got nothing. So we’d just sit there for an hour.
Finally, the third day they happened to be out of school for the day. I decided to read to him and play with him more than normal. He finally played with me all day!
Yesterday, on Valentines Day, they had a movie night (which they do every Friday). Many of us decided to attend the event with the kids. He was so excited! He held my hand as we walked to the chapel, and sat with me during the movie. 30 minutes in, he lies down on my lap and falls asleep. He then woke up about 30 minutes later, grabbed my arm, pulled it down around him, and went back to sleep. It was the cutest thing ever. Most of the other racers had left by that time, but I stayed there and enjoyed the time. I’m so excited to be a positive male influence on this little guy’s life. Looking forward to the possibilities ahead, and what God is going to do.
PS: Some of my team members, and squad members for that matter, need funds for the next deadline. They would be so grateful if you are feeling led to give a donation! Their blog links are on the left hand side of my page. Thanks!
