The Orphanages

Monday-Fridays are the days that we work in the orphanages. Since we settled into the house on Wednesday and went through orientation on Thursday, we have only been able to spend one day in the orphanages so far. We are visiting one of the orphanages this afternoon, which I am looking forward to. I don't have any pictures of the kids yet because they advised us not to take pictures until we have built relationships with them. I'm sure I will have pictures soon, though. For now, here is some information about the orphanages. Enjoy!

St. Catherine's

This was actually the first place that we visited on Friday and apart from all of the other places, it is a school instead of a home. At St. Catherine's, they educate orphaned children with disabilities. As soon as we pulled up in our van, the kids came running to greet us. They were so precious and stole our hearts immediately. Unfortunately we weren't able to stay for long. We were blessed to be able to participate in assembly with them. After we sang a few songs in Shona (the pre-dominant language in Zimbabwe) with them, we acted out a skit about the Ungrateful Servant (Matthew 18:21-35). The kids seemed to enjoy it but I think we were all in agreement that we were in desperate need of some practice in the drama department. All in all, it was a great time. 

St. Joseph's

This was the second place we visited on Friday. It is a home to about 50 orphaned boys ranging from ages 7-18. The boys were all in school during the time that we visited. However, we were able to walk around the place to see what maintenance we could contribute to the property. We probably won't get much time during the week to spend with the boys since they will be in school, but we may be able to set up some weekend activities with them. It was also strongly encouraged that we get them involved in the maintenance we would be doing around the place so that they would have a sense of pride in their home. This will also give us even more chances to build relationships with them, which will be a key element of our service in Zimbabwe.

Father's House

This was our third place to visit on Friday. This home is run by a woman named Mary, who is one of the most genuine women I have ever met. She has amazing strength. . Hopefully we will be able to help her out in a way that will give her enough time to take a break for herself, since she takes care of the 11 children living in her home, on her own.

One of the things that I find amazing about this home, is that all of the children seem to be so well-disciplined. When you think about 11 children living under one roof, you think about complete chaos. However, it seems to be the exact opposite. It was a joy to spend time with each one of the kiddos as we colored some pictures, read a few books, and played a few outdoor games. We were even able to meet a few of the neighborhood kids, who apparently visit the home quite often. We were all in mutual agreement about how much we enjoyed spending time at this home.

Danai

The name Danai in Shona means "to love one another." This is actually the home that we will be visiting this afternoon so I don't have any stories to tell quite yet. What I know about this home so far is that there are 24 children living here, ranging from ages 3-16. They mostly need us to spend some one-on-one time with the kids, helping with homework, and lending a helping hand with the little ones.

That's all I have for now about the homes. There will be more to come soon! In the mean time, you can read some of the blog entries posted by my fellow team members and friends:

Caroline: http://can09a.blogspot.com/

Jaclyn: http://jaclynpwhite.blogspot.com/

Emily: http://emilymaephillips.blogspot.com/