Joy

It would be easy for me to write about the pain and suffering encamped in Kayamandi. In the past couple days heartbreaking events have unfolded. One is of a girl with autism who comes to Kuyasa regularly. She showed up on Friday with a black eye and cigarette burns on her hands and thighs. The second is of an 18 year old girl who was brought to us because she has never attended school and needs someone to start from scratch (ABCs and counting) with her. I could write them in such a way as to break your heart, bring tears to your eyes and, maybe, stir you to do something about it.

But what about the ones that tease my spirit with joy? (Aunt Linda, I've begun to use your phrase more often!)
What about the ones...
where I laugh and smile so much my face hurts?
when my heart skips a beat from excitement?
when I am sure of my faith and my journey?
that I can point to in defense as to why nothing will shake my faith, why I'm happy, why I'm in love with my life and why I'm in love with this place?
What about those ones?

Well, here you go...
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Yesterday was 43C outside and 47C in the Learning Center. No, those are not typos, it was literally 120 degrees Fahrenheit! To put this into perspective, the crayons were actually melting. They drooped down as the kids held them in their hands to color. The kids were taking the crayons and sculpting little masterpieces out of the soft wax. It may be that my brain was actually cooking after being up there for about 5 hours with no ventilation but this put a huge smile on my face! They were loving it! Instead of complaining about not being able to color or that we were all sweating more than I thought was humanly possible, we were embracing the heat and the wonders it allowed us to create.
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We learned our lessons yesterday and decided to cancel the first session of classes today and have a water day with the little ones instead. We set up 3 stations: sand castle building, balance beam walk with a dismount into water and a water relay. The water relay made me laugh so hard I got a side cramp. Imagine this: 2 teams of about 13 preschoolers. They had to cup water in their hands, walk it down to a bucket about 7-8 meters away and dump the water that was left into the bucket. Ok, these kids are like 4 years old. Their hands are tiny and pretty much can't hold any water. But, they ran back and forth for about 15 minutes with excitement. The end result was about 1 centimeter of water in the buckets. Every time they reached the bucket and pretty much just shook their hands off into it they looked up with a huge smile on their faces and a giggle of accomplishment. After a "Great job!" and a high five they went back and did it all over again.
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This morning I absolutely took my time greeting the world. We didn't go into Kuyasa until 10 so I slept until 8, got up to the birds singing and a slight ease in temperature. I enjoyed a great breakfast of eggs, toast, a fruit salad and yogurt...quite the treat! Add to that a good cup of coffee and the morning was turning out great! After the glorious meal, I spent about an hour in my morning quiet devotional time just sipping coffee and letting the cool breeze surround me while meditating on the Psalms. Mmmm...so good!
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Last week's English class with my Grade 7 kids focused on speaking about anything you wanted for 1 solid minute. Some of the students were shy and could barely talk for 10 seconds without me prompting them with questions or topic ideas. Most of them spoke of their home life, family and school. Qhama was different. He was eager to speak and, when it was his turn, spoke fluent and profound words.

He said he thought prayer and fasting were incredibly important. He fasts and prays for Kayamandi and for changes to be made. He fasts and prays for Kuyasa and its ministry. He fasts and prays for God's light to shine in this township. He fasts and prays for God to be more present in his life, the lives of his peers and the life of his community.

He is 12 years old and much wiser then I could ever hope to be. His perspective is inspiring. It is not on himself. It is on his community and the work God wants him to do there. I sat in awe, wonder and inspiration after his 1 minute monologue. I want to be like this 12 year old. I want to have the passion, conviction, gumption and wisdom to tackle the issues he is so passionate about.
Wow!
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These are just 4 stories that have teased my spirit with joy in the last few days. Grasp onto these types of stories so when stories of abuse, rape, neglect, war and injustice bombard your life, you are 100% convinced there is good in this world. Keep these in the front of your brain so you know, without a doubt, that things are getting better. Hold these tight so you are confident you are making a difference in an overwhelming situation.

Do yourself a favor and sit back and think about what has teased your spirit with joy today. Take a break to reflect and smile. It's good for your soul!