Greetings from Joburg!

This is my first ever attempt at blogging, but I am really excited about it. Things here have been very hectic (as South African's say) to say the least. I don't think that I had a clue what God had instore for me before I came. Yes, I had been here before and worked at Bridgman, but this is a completely different experience. Not bad, just very different. Before I lived with a host family, and spent most of my time in Soweto. Now I am trying to manage learning to navigate Johannesburg on my own. It has been going pretty well so far, except for a small incident with my car and the security wall at my house. (Let's just say that the wall won.)

Bridgman has been very busy since the beginning of the year. This year, it was decided to completely restructure the afterschool program. I am very excited about the new program, but it now requires a lot more work, energy, and planning. However, I see it paying off now. The kids are coming earlier from school and want to hangout at Bridgman. They are really excited to be there.

The GASA program (Girls Against the Spread of AIDS) is my main focus. As much as I want to compare the group of this year, to our pilot group of 2005, I can't. They are just too different. I guess I came back with a lot of expectations about how things would go, and am finding that nothing is going according to my expectations. I am learning to be more flexible and trust in God's new direction for GASA. While things are not as expected, I am excited about where we are headed with the program. One of the most unexpected things, has been the social/emotional problems that so many of the girl's are facing. It is hard to comprehend what some of them have been through; being raped by someone who is HIV positive, poverty, having your mother threaten to kill you, and trying to kill yourself. In the midst of all of this, they all have a fighting spirit. Most of the girls that you would meet, you could never tell what they are facing on a day to day basis.

A brief update on Sanele and her mother. Sanele went for her first peer support group meeting last Thursday. She really enjoyed it and made some friends who are also having to deal with similiar issues as she is. I think that she was very encouraged by the group and really connected with some of the people. Her mother is home and is doing okay. They both still have many issues to work though.

This last weekend was really good. I was able to get some rest. Sunday expecially was a good day. On Sunday mornings, I go to a Zulu speaking church in Soweto. There were several people whom I had not seen in a while and we got to catch up after church. Then McFord (my host father), took me on a driving "directions" lesson. He wanted to show me how to get around Soweto better, more especially the area near his home. I had a lot of fun and it was good to spend some time with him. Sunday evening, I went to the young adult service, of an English speaking church here in Joburg. It was also a good service, but even more enjoyed the fellowship with friends after the service.

This week is looking like a busy week. We are doing a lot of planning for the next 3 months. The kids are out of school until after Easter for their end of term vacation, which means that the afterschool program is closed for a couple of weeks. On Wednesday morning, the GASA girls will be doing their first ever service project. Some will go to a daycare and others to an orphanage. For most of the girls this will be their first time volunteering. I can't wait to see their reaction and am just praying that they are touched by their experience. The culture does not encourage service work, and yet there are so many in need. Then on Friday my Mom is arriving for a visit. She is staying a couple of weeks and I really look forward to our time together.

Blessings,

Carla