A Look back at September

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Thanks be to God for the many blessings he has bestowed upon us. September has been a great month. We are very much in preparation mode to get the creche (pre-school) opened in November. In addition to that we had our third session of VBS but only for 4 days. One of the major things that we had to do was to spend time at a few of the local creches. This helped us to see how things operated on a day to day basis. Since this is all new territory, it really helped me get a good picture of what to do.

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During my day at the Khulakahle (grow up well) Creche I decided to help out in the kitchen. It was fun but also quite hectic. There were about 200 kids to feed and I was on rice duty.

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I had the privilege of observing and assisting in the Grade R (kindergarten) class. The kids were very excited to have me there and asked lots of questions. They also enjoyed posing for the camera.

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Getting to take pictures like this is part of what makes me love serving in Ntshongweni. This is one of the students from the Isiduduzo (to comfort) Creche.

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I am standing with the principal (Thuleleni) and former principal ( Gloria) of the Isiduduzo Creche. Also pictured is Hlengiwe, she will be the principal of the Ntshongweni Creche. I spent the day observing and learning a lot from the ladies. They have been a great resource for me.

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This is the 3-4 year old class at the Isidudzi Creche. They welcomed me with open arms. I really enjoyed my time with them.

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The caregiver support group is coming together nicely. Julia, me and the social workers from the Christian Social Services have formed a great team. The ladies are beginning to support each other. During the last meeting they decided on a name for the group. It is called “ Tholokahle” meaning, we have found a good thing.

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We had our third session of VBS. I am happy to say that we were blessed with 70 to 80 kids daily and with lots of new faces. In this picture the kids are starting the morning with a few songs and prayers before breaking into their groups.

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This is the 2-7 year old group led by Rejoice. She will be one of the teachers for our creche. She worked alongside the other two teachers and they will be a good team. The ladies taught the lessons and my part was simple, I helped with the crafts. A far cry from the first time that we did VBS when I had to do much more. I am glad they were there and the kids enjoyed their time at VBS.

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This is the 8-15 year old group led by Hlengiwe. She will be the principal at the creche. She taught the kids about the seasons and nature so for their craft they did leaf painting.

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The kids in the community came together to do a fundraiser to celebrate Heritage Day. In this picture they are practicing one of the Zulu dances that they will perform.

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My supervisor Cindy Rodewald and her son Jacob (in the orange t-shirt) came down from Pretoria to spend a few days with Julia and I. They joined us at VBS and helped out with the kids. The boys really liked having Jacob around.

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Cindy is helping Mrs. Maduna (one of the teachers) trace some fish shapes for the craft of the day. Since we don’t have a copy machine, we had to make copies the old fashioned way by tracing.

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Cindy and Pastor Thwala are spending time catching up.

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Julia, Cindy and I are watching the girls take part in a friendly dance competition in preparation for their Heritage Day performance. It was so much fun and they can dance very well.

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This was taken on the last day of VBS. The kids are standing with the craft that they made after hearing the story of Joseph.

They are great kids and it is such a joy to spend time with them.

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Thank you all for your continued love, support and prayers. Please pray for the children as they are back in school.

Love in Christ,

Shara