A very blessed Thanksgiving adventure...

So I think that I may just be the luckiest girl alive- I have been blessed with so very much this Thanksgiving. First of all, the last two days have been full of meeting and falling in love with the children here. I volunteered at MeNeos' orphanage for the first time yesterday morning; MeNeo is an absolutely amazing Lesotho woman who has taken in 30 orphans and created a home for them. Sarah-Jane has started a Montessori preschool for them, and is helping to train a teacher as well as an aid (a girl from the MIS orphanage where she runs the after schools program) to carry on her work when her year here is up. The children are precious, and so hungry for knowledge and affirmation. The second we get out of the car, they run to us to be held, encouraged, and taught. We do all sorts of learning exercises with them to help them learn how to write their letters and do simple sums. It is so much fun and such a joy to see them try and succeed at various tasks.

Yesterday afternoon, I finally got to meet the girls at the MIS orphanage- I had brought them knitting needles at SJ's request, and I have never seen teenagers so excited about a simple craft supply in my life. It is such a blessing to see joy in them over something that would seem so trivial to many that I know. The girls were quite patient with me, reminding me how to knit, and we sat for ages communicating as best we can (the native language here is Sesotho, and as of right now all I can say is hello... but I will be working on my vocabulary! some of the older girls speak English fairly well though). This afternoon we were back with the boys, and I got the privilege of making and serving tea. The children love their tea because it is the only time that they get sugar, since most of their meals consist of ground corn and beans. So far, it has been a challenge to learn the children's names, since they are all very different from any western ones, but I am putting forth my best effort and I am slowly getting there... It helps that the kids are so very patient with me!

This afternoon we had a prayer meeting with the missionaries and have started to sort out when I can work with the girls surrounding trauma as well as assist the others working with the children in any way possible. I am very excited to have Monday afternoon with the teen girls to do a small sort of group session, and Monday evening will be my first workshop with the volunteers. I am hoping to do an introduction to trauma and then have a question/answer session to see what they are struggling with in regards to the children they work with. I then hope to follow this up with 2 or 3 more sessions while I am here. From the meeting today, it sounds as if they all have loads to talk about, and I will be praying that God will guide my thoughts and my words as I try to sift through my counseling training to aide them in a country with far less resources than I am used to working in.

So after two fabulous days, I returned home tonight to the best surprise EVER~ the missionaries that I live with (headed up by SJ :o)) had prepared a Thanksgiving meal for me... That's right, an Irish, a New Zealander, and a couple of Aussies who have never celebrated Thanksgiving in their lives prepared a roast chicken (they couldn't find a turkey on such short notice), mashed potatoes, and probably the best pumpkin pie I have ever tasted (from scratch- and I mean SCRATCH: no canned pumpkin, just real pumpkin cut up, boiled, and mashed). We all sat down out in our courtyard next to the paddling pool and enjoyed our meal while going around and telling everyone what we are thankful for... then we took it one step further and went around and said what we most appreciated about each other. Although I have only been here for four days, it was amazing how easy it was for me to do this. Everyone here has been so lovely, and I feel like I have known them for much longer than a few short days. God is moving in this place, and I count my blessings to be a part of this little family and a part of His plan here in Lesotho... I hope that everyone had a gorgeous Thanksgiving back in the States, please know that I love you all, and counted you among my blessings at dinner tonight :o)

"Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly."

~1 Corinthians 13:13