Rainbow...

(I wrote this last week…read it all, then see below for who the pics are ☺)

This has been a painfully long week…I’m not exactly sure why (well, actually I think I might be). It’s been an emotionally and physically draining week---not to mention insanely windy. Which I’m now realizing that I need to get used to…part of the Cape Town life I’m told. What is really funny to me is that if I comment on how windy it is (and I mean almost sweep you off your feet windy), then someone says…”It will get so much more windy than this.” It’s hard for me to imagine this. If you’re having a hard time visualizing this, just imagine yourself in a wind tunnel trying to walk…now you have a glimpse ☺So, if you see me in Nashville earlier than mid December, you’ll just know that I was blown home by the wind…

So, this morning I was kind of in need of a highlight for my week, or even my day…after I was told that my face is looking fat today, I was really in need of a highlight!! And, don’t they always say that God is right on time…

Well, I have been asked to do some community research for Living Hope, just to kind of explore the needs of children in their service area and the gaps in services that exist. It has been an interesting task and I’ve learned a lot. It’s been cool to learn about other organizations who are doing community work. Today I went to meet with the principal of a crèche (preschool) in an area called Capricorn…Wait, I’m going to have to back up…hold on...

I have spent a good bit of time in Capricorn and have gotten to work a lot with the LHCC Life Skills educators who work with a lot of kids in the area. One of the educators recently told me about a specific need. There is family with about 4 children who are living in very tough circumstances. The children are not supervised or cared for very well, and there is a lot of activity in and around their shanty home (things like drugs, fighting, abuse, prostitution, and who knows what else). He told me about one of the youngest children (there are 4 kids in the house all under the age of 6); he was looking for There are 4 children in the house under the age of 6, and he was looking for someone to sponsor one the 4 year little girl to go to crèche. She’s really smart, he said, and can count to 20 without missing a beat! He said when he heard her counting he just knew that he had to find a way to get her into school.

I knew immediately that this was an opportunity that God had placed in front of me to impact someone’s life. Several weeks after our conversation my aunt Jane brought some money that had been taken up by her Sunday School class. I think God perfectly planned for this opportunity for a group of believers in Murfreesburo, TN to be used by God in the life of a child thousands of miles away.

To put this into perspective for you…the registration fee for creche (that her family could not afford) is 20 rand, or less than $3. The weekly fee is 40 rand, or a little less than $6…

Robin my precious new 4 year old friend’s name, and last week I went to meet her and get her registered her for crèche. I have to tell you that I pretty much fell in love with her the moment I met her. She has such a bright and outgoing personality. And probably the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen!!! I think I’m in love…

She was to start school the very next day…I went to visit her that day and heard that her mom had walked her to school! (Mom’s name is Rosalyn) Pray that mom continues to take that time each morning to walk with Robin to crèche.

So, that’s the background…my heart has been stolen by a 4 year old girl!!

Now back to the story…are you following me??

Today, I went back to Rainbow Educare (Robin’s crèche) to talk with the principal Faranaaz about my community research. Unfortunately it was naptime, so I didn’t get to see Robin. But I was so blessed by my time with Faranaaz. As I’ve noticed in so many people, her passion and love for her community just pours out of her. As she talked of the community’s needs and the children, her eyes filled with tears!

This is her story…in 1998 when she was working for a local community center, she saw a problem that she could not ignore. There were numbers of pre school aged children that were being left home alone with no supervision while their parents went to work. Instead of looking the other way or pointing her finger, she decided to take action. She had already been taking care of a lot of the kids in the community, so she decided to take it a step further and provide a safe environment for children to play and learn. So…she opened a crèche!

The crèche opened on April 1, 1998 in her mother’s home. On the first day she had 15 children!! And so it began…

Today, Rainbow Educare has 80 children on roll and 6 teachers. Her vision is to treat all children equally and to provide a holistic program that not only focuses on a child’s education, but also on their development as a productive South African citizen. Last year they had a waiting list of over 100 children.

Pray for Faranaaz as she looks to the future of Rainbow Educare. Pray for the children, teachers, staff members, and volunteers who are involved with the crèche. May it be a place filled with joy, laughter, and love and also a place where the children encounter the Jesus who loves all the little children of the world (Red and yellow, black, and white they are precious in His sight…☺)

Faranaaz was running around like crazy when I arrived because she had just found out that Rainbow had been chosen for a group of 10 volunteers to come and do a project for her…TOMORROW! She could have rescheduled our meeting, but I’m so glad that she didn’t cause I was so blessed by her heart, passion, and spunk!!

The project that the group will complete is to paint the whole crèche, inside and out!! As I was walking out she asked me to take some pictures of the outside and then come back next week and take the “after” shots. She asked me my thoughts on what color to paint the outside…that’s kind of scary, I think she’s going with purple!! As I left she said to come back anytime…”You’re part of the family now; part of the furniture!!” How fun is that!!

And by the way, I asked her how Robin has been doing! She’s doing great!! She is interacting well with all the other kids and teacher, behaving wonderfully, coming to school everyday, dressed neatly, and smiling all the time!! Praise God that He has provided an opportunity for her to learn and be in such a safe and loving environment. It’s so exciting to be a part of what God is doing in this little child’s life.

So this…in a very large nutshell is how God gave my a highlight for my day!!!

Pic 1- Faranaaz and me

Pic 2- Sweet little Robin and me (I mean really, I’ve seen a lot of cute kids in SA, but she is absolutely, hands down the cutest ever!!)