Ngiyakuthanda :)

Ktina and I at the Valentines Day Dinner and Dance

Hike in the Drakensburg Mountains..so beautiful!

Still Running with the Zebras..I just cant get enough of it :)

I am still loving my time Africa...rejoicing in the God who goes before me..and seeking joy in living completely open to what he wants to teach me during my time here. Or as open as I can be because there are always challenges when I want do things my own way. But there isn't much opportunity for me to try and control much here..it is kind of interesting to let the day unfold as it comes and to not be so invested in my schedule and planning as I would at home. And I mean I am not even much of a planner at home, so here I am really challenged to be present and in the moment, taking the day as it comes :)

The other day at one of the clinics, I got to to work with Moms and Babies and it was just great! As some of you may know, I really want to go into Labor & Delivery or Pediatrics so this area of the clinic was perfect for me! I got to do assessments on the 6 month year old infants and they were just precious! It is also just such a blessing to see healthy babies born to mothers with HIV. Continue to pray that these children wont be infected and that the Moms will take all precautions in avoiding infection of her child. The morning was such a happy and joyful time but then the afternoon took on a different mood. A Mother came to the clinic for a follow-up with her 10 month year old child since she had a cold that wouldn't go away. She also got tested for HIV yielding a positive result when she had previously tested negative at the beginning of her pregnancy. You could just see the devastation on this Mother's face not only with her positive HIV status but, also at the likelihood that she also infected her child...then my Nurse had to tell the next Mom that her 3 year old was HIV positive..it was a happy day but it was also very heavy. It is encouraging to see the Zulu people respond to their status because I have often experienced here that those that are newly infected do not take it seriously and often laugh at their positive status, requesting grant paperwork from the nurse in order to get money from the government..it is a very interesting dynamic and I am thankful for the exposure even if spins me into an afternoon of thinking about all of this...

Last weekend, we all got to go to the Beach and lay out in the SUN! That night it was time to cheer on the Sharks at a rugby game..which we all knew nothing about but it was still exciting..! My community project is also starting progress and head in a great direction so, thank you to all for being in prayer about that! Please continue to pray that it will meet the community needs and that it will be a sustainable resource for the community even after we leave...!! Ngiyakuthanda to all... Love to all..!