Saturday, January 21, 2017

It hardly seems like Saturday is.  The week of mission has seemed like we have been here for at least a month. I would wholeheartedly put a plug in to encourage a visit to Blessman International in South Africa.

While we were surely winding down, our mission immersion experience was not over with yet. Most of the team left for a service project at Sterkrier School.  The team was returning.  This is a school with broken windows and kids share two students to a desk.

At Sterkrier, students attend from the area and some attend from a distance and live in the dorms – male and female dorms.  You must step out of any pre-conceived American word of “dorm”.  These were run down dorms and schools.  Not showers, but a shower room with basins.  Grim conditions and for many of the students these were better conditions than where they came from.

The Saturday Team with the greatful kids!!

The team went to replace broken window panes (there were a lot) and other tasks: mowing the area used as a soccer field and pick up trash.

The boys that stayed over the weekend were so excited to have this team present.  For some team members, this was one of the highlights of this trip.

The team commented that it seemed the boys did not have anything to do or anything to play with – the only thing they could find was a soccer field.

On this day, these boys were lifted with the caring and love from the Team St. Francis.  The boys left pieces of their hearts with our team. And our team left pieces of love and hope.

Pat, who is a 3^rd year returnee for Team St. Francis says this about her time In South Africa with Blessman International:

“ I loved time in South Africa.  The children thrive on attention because many are orphans.  We had fun together doing crafts and playing games.  The most moving experience was arriving in an isolated community to find elderly people lined up the entire length of the building because they needed glasses.  The optical outreach provided eye glasses so they could see to sew, to read, and to go about their day.

One woman was so grateful, she hugged me twice when she left my area and once when she got her glasses, and once when she was going out the door.