Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Two Day Summary...where does the time go?




Is it Tuesday already?

Monday we spent a lot of time with The Pines children since they did not have school. We played across the road on a bike trail mowed in the 3 foot high African jungle (weeds for us Iowans). They rode dirt bikes, a 4 wheeler and just had fun. Oh, I probably shouldn't say that because this is an orphanage--where kids go to live, not to have fun. Oh well, I bet the kids at The Pines receive more love than any other orphanage in the world because they have Louie, Amber, Brian and Lois! Of course I am partial. The missionaries here are dedicated to these kids and it shows! An american baseball game broke out later in the afternoon. Some of these boys are headed for the Cubs! Chicago, that is.

The highlight of the day was a trip to the hospital. If this is government health care (and it is) I don't want to be a patient. We distributed tracts and bubble gum. The Pines kids are excellent witnesses--we pray that God will water the efforts of these kids as they passed out around 100 gospel tract/booklets. Louis headed up this project. Pictures in this post are of kids witnessing to people our entire group and dirt biking in the jungle.

Today the O'Tools and Niehoff's ll took off for a day of business and pleasure. Since the business was 2 hours away and Brian & Louie had to go we all decided to go. What a wonderful time of fellowship for all. Thank you SBC for sending these missionaries here.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Arrival in South Africa





After what seemed like an endless 24 hours of flying and waiting we were greeted by Brian & Lois & Liam! A grandparents heart is satisfied best when in the presence of a grandchild.

Our greeting team at The Pines consisted of the dozen or so children who were not napping. It was great to renew friendships with the children and housemothers. The older girls wanted to welcome us by singing for us. As we made our way to the activity room we discovered that they had quickly changed from play clothes to their best dresses to perform! That singing consisted of 20 minutes of a variety of songs in a variety of languages. What a treat--our eyes teared up as we reflected on the lives of these children and the wonderful work that God has done in their lives. They sang songs of praise to God and Jesus Christ for saving them. Wow. They looked so beautiful!

Today is national holiday named Freedom Day to celebrate the end of Apartheid. Since there is no school we are taking a group of children to the hospital to hand out tracts and witness to patients. The children are experts at this--more tomorrow.

Liam and Drake are the object of our attention quite often. This place is a grandparents dream. You can literally go outside and make a child's day anytime by playing with them or just talking to them. Tomorrow school starts again and it's back to life as norma--whatever that is.

Thanks for your promise of prayers--it means a lot to us and to Louis and Amber, Brian and Lois.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

On Our Way Back

Bob & Susan Niehoff are headed back to South Africa on Friday, April 24. Follow their trip and activity on this blog. Your prayers are appreciated as they look for ministry opportunities and enjoy family time.