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.

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.

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.

Sunday and No Power

No pictures today, sorry--look tomorrow.

Saturday the team from NY was taken to the airport by Louis & Amber and Brian & Lois. The 4 of them had a brief retreat and had a wonderful time. The Pines is a terrific place but when you are here 24/7 you really do need a break. Susan and I watched Meredith and had a good time too.

Saturday night the power went out and was out until noon on Sunday. This place is really dark at night with no light. Last Sunday there was no water!

Sunday was a wonderful day. Susie & I led church and had a great worship time with the children. We began by asking for favorite songs--needless to say the children just started singing. They sang for 1/2 hour and their repertoire began to fade. We figured they knew about Noah so we focused on the covenant and rainbow which they also knew about. After teaching on the God's covenant we split up and worked on worksheets and coloring pages depending on age. We got back together and sang and prayed. What a neat time to see the keen sense of God in these children. You can really see spiritual growth in the children who have accepted Christ.

COLD. B&L say it is hard to describe the cold here so...here is my attempt. Imagine turning off your furnace in March in Iowa. Yeah, it would be cold in your house. Here, in general, people do not use heat. This past week it has been down to 32F or close every night. It gets up to 60-70 during the day so it is really nice outside. I have been wearing my coat anytime I am in any building. On Sunday Susan and I were invited to someone's home for lunch. We walk in and it is COLD inside and everyone was sitting outside on the patio. It was very nice outside--with my jacket on. We were sitting close to the open door to the house and could feel the cold air coming out of the house! Today I went to the grocery store for lunch meat for the team that just arrived. It was colder inside the store at 7:30 am than it was outside! BRR. (side note--one of the cold cuts that I bought was bologna made from beef tongue! Please don't tell the team! OK, I did try it and it was good) Fortunately, B&L have portable heaters so we can heat up our room before bed. They also put floor heat in the bathroom and it takes the chill off. Just so you don't think we are over here suffering. I would hate it if anyone felt sorry for us! We love it here!

Can you handle one last story. It is easy to forget the pain and hardship that goes on here. I was made aware of it this morning. I was shopping for some supplies and stopped to pick up a newspaper. I got back into the car and looked across the road where a pickup truck had just stopped and 20 guys swarmed around it talking to the guy. I didn't know what was going on so I just sat there and watched. While I was watching a guy came up to my window and asked me for a job. There were at least 25 guys working this intersection hoping someone would come by and give them a job. Reports indicate 80% unemployment in this area. Wow.

Liam is growing stronger and cuter by the day. Everyone loves him. Thanks for reading!

Welkom, school and fun

The pictures of town are Winpy's--like McD's, the meat market and school. The children attend a private school and are loving it. The government school they attended last year did not further their education so they were moved to Dunamis school in December. They all love it and are doing well.

Hmmm, all I see around here are ISU apparel. Hmmm.

Tonight we all went to one of the girl's flats and celebrated the birthday of housemother Sylvia. I was sitting on the floor on my knees and Cebisile squeezed herself between me and the couch (it was rather crowded) and pushed her way in front of me and sat on my lap. Talk about melting your heart! This is the girl who came to The Pines March 30, 2007 weighing 13 lbs and on her death bed. Today she is a healthy chunk and gets around like any 3 year old. She will talk if she is comfortable but doesn't talk much.

Weather and Other Stuff

Ok, it is fall here and there is the smell of burning leaves and brush in the air. Some of the trees are turning fall colors and the sun is low in the sky casting those wonderful fall shadows. This is so confusing--Lois said she feels like she should be getting ready for Christmas--and she has been here for 2 years. Tonight it will get to about 40 degrees. We went out for supper and had to keep our coats on . We visited some friends and their house was so cold we had to keep our coats on and we were still cold. BRRRRR. At least the days are beautiful--sunny and warm (65-70) if you are in the sun like I was today. Yesterday was rainy 1/2 the day but that is unusual. I will finish the cabinet tomorrow and start on a kitchen table. Will put pictures on the blog if you are interested.

The children have chores to do after school each day. Today they were raking leaves and cleaning the area around their flat. Yes, even the ladies all use these short brooms and bend at 90 degree angle--it is a wonder they are not permanently stuck that way by the time they are 20. The children love to have their picture taken.

Brian, Louis and the team installed the fence at Reahola today. Next week they will do the playground. Susie completed a huge set of curtains for B&L's flat today. Lois has been working on her nurse stuff--writing instructions to the housemom's as to how to dispense the ARV meds for the children. Occasionally she takes care of Liam--when Susie will let her (mostly feeding time). I even saw Brian changing Liam today--he is a great dad--don't know where he gets that.

Thanks for your prayers for us and B&L and L&A. Just yesterday we learned of 2 more childern in the area accepting Christ as the result of a Bible club. They are going to bring their mom to talk to Louis & Amber. She is in desperate need of a Savior and her newly saved daughters want to help! Our enemy would love to see problems here. Your prayers are vital.

Tomorrow I will try to take pictures of the area and get a few on the blog.

All In A Day's Work

So...what is a typical day at The Pines?

Take the children (15 of them) to school.
Take a house mother to class.
Drop off a house mother at the clinic.
Meet with the team of 12 and make sure they all have jobs to do and the materials to do those jobs.
Get propane and fittings to hook up a gas range.
2 hour meeting for Brian, Lois, Louis & Amber
Care for Meredeth and Liam.
Get food for the team.
Take "lost" child to school after having been assured that everyone was on the van on the first trip.
Pick up house mother from class.
Lois checks out 2 ill team members.
Take 2 ill team members to the doctor, stay with them.
Pick up house mother from clinic--who walks to grocery store and cannot be found for 1/2 hour.
Work on Pines payroll.
Work on Pines job tasks lists for missionaries.
Pick up children from school.
Handle visitors who show up at The Pines gate.
Deal with brush fires on 3 sides of The Pines (actually, an annual thing--no big deal!)
Take team members to top of huge mine dump to see sunset at 5:15--yeah, dark that early.
Play with Pines children.
Make arrangements for 2 children and 2 house mothers to go to the clinic tomorrow.
Work with team members--and even after they have quit for the day.

The above list is a normal day for Louis & Amber, Brian & Lois. These are things that I knew about or observed while I was cooped up in the "shop" working on building a kitchen cabinet. I know these 4 did more today but this is the list I can remember at 10 at night. I am impressed with the dedication and hard work of these 4 brave missionaries...all to see God change the lives of these orphaned young people. Wow!

The pictures posted today were taken today. Enjoy--I wish you could be here to see the sights and hear the sounds and smell the smells--and even touch these 20 children that are here. That is something I absolutely will never be able to convey in words and photos. The joy is indescribable.
Bob