(emails from africa)

It is so overwhelming to know where to begin.  This was my first experience outside of the US and I truly felt blind and sheltered and ignorant with eyeballs popping, taking it all in. . . . the whole trip. 

Coming back and sharing with friends and family has been difficult.  It's so hard to communicate when I don't even have my mind wrapped around everything we saw. 

So I'm starting small, with some pictures and the emails Daniel and I sent the kids throughout the trip and our facebook posts. 





April 22, 2013

Hi you guys!

We made it here today at about 2 pm local time . . . So 9 pm your time. The landscape is similar to the I 80 corridor. Pam and I made dinner for 21 and we toured the village. The kids are precious. Daniel and I have both cried just seeing how happy and sweet they are and what a great healthy home environment has been created here. . . . As we know that takes a ton of work.

The kids are unbelievably lovable. . .they all go to Louie and ambers on Monday nights for a kids bible study which is really just a family bible time. We went too and they just pile all over you. I wish you were here Jacob and Cambria because you would love it. The kids all have chores and jobs. Jd, kamahelo showed us his goats and garden. That's his job.

They all love people to read to them.

There's a little guy here exactly the size of Eli named tumi. Except I think he's older cuz he can talk a little bit. I asked him if he was 1 and he said "1,2,3,4,5, 9, 40!" They're just the cutest. Abbie and Elizabeth wouldn't be able to leave without one .

I miss you guys but seeing how little these kids have makes me know that u will be fine with grandpa and grandma.

Louie said we could eat with the kids at their own houses with their "mom & dad " one night and we will but he warned us that's its authentic and we have to eat it or they'll feel bad. . . . Get this, Jacob, they eat chicken heads and feet as a dish. Louie and amber call it Walkie talkies. Ha ha.

Love you gotta go. . . Internet is hard to get and borrowed.

Love ya, mommy

 April 23, 2013

First of all thank you for the great emails! I love love love hearing from you jd & Cambria! Wow about your fish! I'm glad you're ok Cambria.

So today. . . We went to the hospital to visit one of the kids. It was incredible. There aren't really words. The kids are so alone in there. We went back to a room where abandoned babies stay b c there is nowhere else to go, won't get adopted bc no one cares about them since there is adequate care in the hospital. But then u have to define adequate care; we met little "binky" (sp?) she is two, was born in the hospital and has lived in her crib the entire time there. We took her out and played with her. She called me mama which was pretty cute. This other baby in there . . . Daniel held and would lock eyes with him. Later when I was holding her she would follow Daniels voice with her eyes. It was heartbreaking. Two little dudes in blue bathrobes with broken arms popped in to the room to see us. We got pictures of everything but I can't upload them . Some people have been uploading so you can get on fb and look. U can hack my account or ask Edith. 

The effects of sin are staggering here. There is wealth. . . But the contrasts are night and day different. When we left the hospital , walking through the corridor, a pigeon came flying through, banging it's head on the glass. One of the nurses was walking by and we said . . . Informationally, trying to be cool. . .we'd already screamed and jumped- "there's a pigeon in the hallway. ". The nurse looked back and asked "are you scared?!". Haha, not th response we expected.

So anyway. . . Jake, Cambria and Eli. . .when you learn to obey and follow God you don't even realize how good life will be for u.


Love u very very much.

Ps I got the time change wrong yesterday. . . So now I know it's nine here and two pm there.

Hayley

April 24 via Facebook

 

Loren and I got to visit a crèche (daycare) .

One incredible lady living out her love for jesus by pouring into 130+ kids

 . . .She does have helpers but it's obvious that Anne is in charge. 

Sweetest kids ever.

I think my hair got pulled in thirty five different directions cuz when I sat down there was a circle of kids five deep all the way around me. Loren got them all singing for her. So stinking cute. They have so little (one little boy is cheerfully playing with a broken rusty metal pipe) but they are so cute and responsive. Love it love it.

 

 

 

April 25

 

Hi people!

The guys are almost done with the roofing project;

 Daniel read to kids this afternoon and they just pile all over him. Monica is 9, . .she made us all coloring pages. Rose made you a bookmark today Cambria. 

 

Loren Pam Taylor and I went to house of hope where babies are cared for. It was incredible. We held babies all afternoon. And cried. Gave some baths too.

Just hard to put words to everything.

God is working in people's lives and it doesn't have to be us doing the work but it is pretty neat to be part of.

Love you all very much..

I loooooooooove reading your emails.

Love

Hayley

 

April 26 via Facebook

 

One room school at the end of a level b equivalent road this morning. In iowa the little trails leading to it would be from deer or coons. Here they are trails from children walking to school. Daniel  coached a pretty sweet kickball game. The school has. . . Nothing. . . Except a dedicated teacher. So so so different than the US. Humbling. So humbling. Hearing the kids sing " lets talk about Jesus " in English for us. . . Priceless.

 

 

 

April 26, 2013 (to JD)

 

Hahaha Jacob. Glad u r sleeping well. I miss ur little face. Dad and I want to bring u with us as soon as we can, either here or somewhere like here. U would be an incredible help and u would love it. The kids would all want to touch u cuz most of them never see white children. They don't even have soccer balls, Jacob, and they're so happy. I think u would have fun doing this. Save ur money, fill ur luggage with tracts and flat soccer balls and a pump and go pass them out in the villages. U would have a hundred kids around u.

Cambria could bring gum. , or suckers . It's so fun. We want u guys to see.

 

From Jacob:

 

I want to go to South Africa really bad, if we did go I would borrow Ezra's gas remote control car it would be awesome to drive it with the kids, but I would have to bring about 5 cans of gas along so it would not run out.
Hopefully we could stay for two weeks and then adopt one of the kids.
Love you Mom and Dad.
Only one week left!!!
Jacob

 

(To Jacob)

Love hearing this! Thank you! They would love your remote control car!!!

Tomorrow we will go into the ghetto equivalent. They keep trying to prepare us. It's hard to believe things could be worse than what we've seen.

The happy note is that we get to come home and throw a birthday party for the kids.

Love u. . .night night. Haha u probably just finished lunch.

 

 

 

::to be continued.