Wednesday - Our last workday...

On Tuesday night we flew from Port Elizabeth (Mosaic's third location) back to Cape Town and drove to Wellington/Paarl Valley (Mosaic's second location).  Our group had been fighting some sickness so hand sanitizer was my best friend.  I had it in my pocket.  I would squeeze it into everyone's hands but I didn't let anyone else touch my hand sanitizer.  :-)  I am thankful to say that everyone was doing ok by Thursday for our trip home and everyone was fine on our flight home.


Wednesday was our last workday.  The house was ready for some walls to be painted so our group painted if they didn't do the alternative activities.

Ma's for Wellington Preschool
The first alternative activity for today was going to the preschool graduation for Ma's for Wellington.  (Remember that their school year runs January to November NOT August to June like we do in the US.)  We were only able to stay for part of it due to a commitment to visit Nederburg primary school.  The kids were each going to get a backpack with school supplies and a pair of leather shoes for school.  The classes would come up in front of the group and sing a song.  The group that sang before we left sang the song "Give Thanks".  It made me tear up.  The people I love in South Africa may not have much financially based on US standards but spiritually they are so very rich.  I am humbled on every trip by the faith of the people I meet.

Give thanks with a grateful heart

Give thanks to the Holy One

Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son

And now let the weak say, "I am strong"

Let the poor say, "I am rich

Because of what the Lord has done for us"

Nederburg Primary School
My church Hopewell UMC has been visiting Nederburg for over 10 years.  We originally weren't going to visit Nederburg on this trip.  Our schedule was packed and I just didn't see how we could fit it in.  God had a different plan.

Hank Kahl, one of our mission trip team members, had traveled to South Africa in May with the West Chester University honors college students.  The tour guide from his trip happened to live in Wellington so Hank met up with him one night.  I can't remember his name.  :-(  We found out that his tour guide lived behind OHISA (Our House in South Africa).  When I say behind our house, I mean literally behind our house.  They heard us celebrating Seth and Louise's birthday on Tuesday night.  He attended Nederburg and he knew the principal so he reached out for us and set up a time for our group to go on Wednesday morning from 10:30 to 11:30.

We had a nice visit to Nederburg.  The principal gave my church a certificate thanking us for our support over the years.  Pastor Vicki accepted the certificate from Principal Lawrence.

The school has some classrooms that are in really bad shape.  See the last picture.  The funny thing is that the inside of that building is the picture right above the last picture.  The inside of the classrooms look pretty good.  Our church is contributing some money to replace these classrooms which will hopefully happen at the beginning of 2020.

Mosaic Christmas Program, Certificates and Gifts
Our day ended at the Mosaic Community Center for the Christmas program.  It was HOT!  We usually think of cold for Christmas but in South Africa it is HOT.  It had to be around 90 degrees outside during the program in a room with NO air conditioning.  It was HOT!

The younger Mosaic kids acted out the Christmas story while the older kids that were in the Mosaic choir sang songs throughout the play.  They did a fantastic job!  After the play, certificates were handed out for participation the after school program. Special awards for leadership, kindness, improvement in reading, etc were also handed out to select kids.

At the end we handed out presents to the Mosaic kids that looked similar to what Operation Christmas Child does.  I didn't have a chance to ask people about the organization that provided the presents.

The last picture is me saying "Goodbye" to everyone.  I also told the kids and the choir that they did a wonderful job.  The choir can sing.  They are very good.  I kept is very short because it was HOT. 

I wish I could post pictures but I can't due to Mosaic's social media policies.  Since many of the kids are orphans or in the foster system in South Africa, we are not allowed to post their pictures on social media.  I tried to find pictures where you couldn't see the kids faces or it would be the back of their heads.

It was a busy day but I loved it all! I am glad I had a chance to say goodbye to the Mosaic mothers, kids, employees and volunteers. 

I didn't have a chance to say goodbye to Ma's for Wellington since we left in the middle of their program and I wish I would have said goodbye when we arrived before the program started.  That made me sad but it is a lesson for my next trip.  I will do better making sure we have time to say goodbye on future trips.