3/25/08 – Kansas City
Update by Megan Eastland

I wanted to write a wrap up blog to talk about our last few days in South Africa. What a beautiful and incredible trip! It was a deeply powerful and moving and sacred trip. Thanks so much for all of you who prayed and gave for our team. Our time in Africa was definitely fruitful!

We visited Jehovah Jireh, one of the orphanages that Oceans and Westside partner with, on Thursday and Friday of our trip. How wonderful to have met the kids and gotten to know them at camp earlier that week, and then to get to go visit their home! We loved it! We walked in to loving arms, got to see their bedrooms and ooh and ahh, and see their play areas, their siblings, and their parents. What incredible people– Molly and Neils! (please forgive my spelling if I spelled their names wrong!) These incredible people run this orphanage and safe home for 50-70 children! (I think all of them are on our child sponsorship program.) On the weekends their numbers surge because parents are home and get drunk and abuse their children, so the children know that they can come to Jehovah Jireh for a safe haven. Many of the full time children there have parents that have died for various reasons, many of them dying from AIDS.

While we were there, some of the team did work projects such as refinishing a tin roof, putting down new flooring, and refinishing and painting their swing sets. The rest of the team played and loved and played and loved and played and loved! We had the BEST time! For the team members that were playing with kids, I don’t think there was ever a time where there wasn’t a baby in our arms, or a kid at our side. (lots and lots of kids at our sides!) The kids are so beautiful and wonderful and lovely and we all felt deep love for them. What a sweet time.

On Saturday, we picked up a bunch of the Oceans of Mercy kids and we brought them along to visit Addo Elephant Park. We drove around and saw hundreds of elephants (my van had a herd walk RIGHT by) and warthogs, and zebras, and so many other animals. It was so fun! I heard that one van of the Oceans kids kept singing “When I was a young Warthog” and other songs from the Lion King every time they saw a warthog. How fun!

We finished out the trip staying at a charming place near Kenton on Sea. It was a perfect, homey place where we got to wrap up our trip. I know there were many sad hearts on Sunday when we left, and still many sad hearts now that we are home. I know that I speak for the team when we say that we love Africa, and we LOVE our new family there! Thanks again, all of you who prayed for our team and our mission, and gave to enable this mission to happen. I pray that God was truly glorified by all who were involved in this journey.

Pictures (Click to Enlarge). View even more pictures at our Flickr Page. More and more pictures will be added to that site so check back!

Grace

Kids in the Ocean with Schaun