homecoming

the week in durban went by swiftly. we were there exploring ways to make the president's emergency plan for aids relief (PEPFAR) more sustainable. it was an interesting meeting. and i found lots of additional work to do and met many who are really engaged and fighting the good fight against this disease. it was great. i am honored to work with all the people i work with and so happy that i can be engaged in this important work.

some people appreciate our work more than others...

i came home with a plethora of stuff for the girls (mostly food)

which elicited this response.

i got a really cute note from jennifer (who was at church when i got home): (this is unedited for sweetness)

Dear Kimberly I hope you had a fun time in africa what did you see tell me everything. I gave you some candy in a bowl with a pin on top I hope you like it

love you kimberly (inscribe inside of a heart)

the corners of the note have hearts drawn.

we had a fun bbq dinner of lindsay's famous shishkebabs, stoney ginger beer (i lugged a six pack home from durban... i seriously don't know what i was thinking, but i love that stuff), pineapple rice, yummy cheese and crackers, fresh corn on the cob, and arugula salad from the garden... during dinner we had a short teaching moment about youth day:

i was in durban for 16 june, which is the national holiday "youth day". it commemorates the beginning of the end of apartheid. students (sixth grade to seniors in high school) in Soweto started a protest for better education and to overturn the gov't decision to teach school in Afrikaans. police responded with teargas and live bullets. hector pieterson was one of the first killed. he was a 12 year-old school boy. by all accounts he was a well-mannered, smart, unassuming lad. the picture below is the photograph that lit the world's disdain for apartheid and started the revolution that would find nelson mandela out of prison and president of the country 18 years later. it is hector being carried by a friend and his sister along side.

i wanted this to be a lesson to the girls that they have a voice. that if they fight for change and truth, even at the age of 12, they can change the world. so i got them nelson mandela t-shirts to accompany the larger lesson...

then we cleaned up and the girls got ready for bed and scripture study...

as the girls were getting ready for bed and my jet lag was setting in, jennifer triumphantly came down the stairs

bedtime was less painful than normal... we agreed to wake up at 6:45 for round house theater camp. i panicked in the morning when i went to wake them up. paulette needed to wake up first to have a shower, but i couldn't find her, and it looked like she hadn't slept in her bed. then i wised up and looked to the bottom bunk ....

honestly, nothing is sweeter than when these 2 are asleep.