ABOVE AND BEYOND

Where to begin....one thing Brian didn't mention yesterday, was that the walls we were prepping for paint, had huge old construction paper posters that had been GLUED to the walls a decade ago.  Think of your worst wallpaper removal nightmare, then think of trying to complete it with 2 bent rusted spoons.  That was all we had to remove these bits of paper covering the walls....along with a few pieces of broken brick.  I think one thing that we learned yesterday was the value of tools!  The IDP camp kids also had the experience of trying to build 30 chairs yesterday, with raw wood, only one saw and hammer, and no measurements tools, but there has been no grumbling!  Only humor at these predicaments, and appreciation for the value of having the right tools to complete a job.

A few of you asked me to make sure your kids worked hard, I want you to know that EVERY ONE of the kids we have with us, have gone above and beyond, and worked til they literally dropped, then kept going.  As I watched them today, I started taking pictures and thinking, oh wow, I need to let Cal's mom know how hard he is working!  then I would look across the room and think that about the group painting,  then glance out at the field, and see the kids dripping sweat, with 20 kids all piled on top of them, pulling them and scrambling for attention.  Literally, we worked all day, scraping, painting, sweeping, then the bell rings for recess, and 350 kids swarm our group, begging for attention, the kids file out and play soccer, football, basketball, the girls are teaching dances, braiding hair, painting nails, after 45 mins., the kids go back to class, and our group files back in to continue painting, and this pattern goes on all day.  Yesterday, I ordered lunch for our group from the school, and it didn't arrive until almost 2, the kids were dizzy with hunger, and as they brought lunch in my heart sank.  It was a huge steaming pot of thick grits, a bowl of chopped steamed spinach and other greens, and a pot of seasoned meat, that was mostly bones and fat.  I thought I would have kids melting down, but they all piled in, expressed gratitude, and filled up as best they could, commenting on how delicious and well seasoned everything was.  So today I decided to order sack lunches, they were to arrive at noon, but 2:00 rolled around again, our kids had been working like dogs for 5 hours, a few questions about when lunch might arrive, but no complaints, and when it finally came, they ate with gratitude.....and fervor.  After lunch we had the AMAZING experience of dividing the boys and girls up for the 6th, 7th and 8th grades.  Our girls were able to spend an hour talking to the girls about puberty, menstruation, abstinence and girl power.  Sidney jumped up on the table and demonstrated (over her clothing) how to assemble and use the sanitation kits we had brought, she was amazing!  The girls broke into groups and answered questions, shared their own experiences, and talked about the sanctity of family and blessings of waiting to have sexual experiences.  Tomorrow we will distribute 60 of our Days for Girls kits to the girls at the school.  The boys meanwhile met with the 6-8th grade boys and talked about respecting girls, Aids, and abstinence.  You should have seen them!  It is overwhelming to try and meet the needs of these 350 kids all wanting attention at once, but you would  be amazed at how adept your kids are at drawing these kids in and making them all feel loved and involved.  They painted their nails, got them to sing solos for us, raced them on the field, let them braid their hair, jumped rope, played tether ball, soccer, spike ball, choreographed dances, exhausting but so rewarding.  We go back again tomorrow and then on Saturday, we are going to be able to design and paint murals on the walls of the classrooms (I will just be a grunt worker as I have no artistic skills), the kids are all going to come back to school on Saturday just to be with us.  Our IDP camp kids are also engaged in manual labor, but have reached out to the teachers at the school, and been able to go in and teach some of their classes, read to the kids, etc.  they have to travel farther and work later, not returning to the house until 7 p.m.every night, but when offered the chance to switch and work with the school group, they all wanted to stay with their assignments.

The boys stayed up til midnight last night so they could sing happy birthday to Jayden the moment it was July 21!  We sang for her several times today at camp with all the african school kids joining in.  Brian and I are exhausted, but so grateful for every minute of these experiences.

Mindy