What a journey this has been. Because I felt
abandoned by my father at a very young age, this experience was an unusual
journey of healing. Many wounds and
stripes became whole. The Palace of Mercy Orphanage will be a haven, a safe
place to lie down their little heads knowing they will wake up to a warm
breakfast served with tenderness. The
orphans will create their own family and learn love once again. We are standing at the closing moments of
this project which embraces "agape" love.
And I feel overwhelmed at the bigness of it all. Lost children, children
of the "Bush," abandoned children, abused children will cross this sacred
threshold. They will be frightened unable to discern what their future will
hold. But they will be "Home."
So, we go back in time to the beginning.
Pastor Budeli observed that many children really had
no one to care for them. They were lost with a questionable future and even less
hope. Pastor had a vision in 1993 to build a complex of many buildings. The
orphans would be living in some of
them. There would be a play ground to feed their little bodies, a school to feed
their minds, a church to feed their spirits and a series of workshops in which
each child could learn a skill so they could be a contributing member of society
and have skills to earn a living.
There would be 6, four bedroom dorms that would sleep about 12 -16
children safely. Gardens for self
sustainment would abound in the courtyard, and loving caregivers would help
these lost children feel loved again.
Let us start from the beginning.
Sidney, Pastor Budeli and CJ
storyboard.
(How to build a 4 bedroom structure in
less than 30 days. The Race is
on!!!)
Plans for the Palace.
(First, we must "make a plan.")
From a simple drawing, Wayne created a scaled drawing of the Palace. This is all the builders had to go
from. But, that was more than they
usually had... AND, we learned there is a city way to do things, but then again,
there is the village way.
Meeting - regional Social Worker responsible
for child placement.
(Met with Regional Social Worker Ernest.)
He explained there were no facilities to protect the
vulnerable children. He had a list of many children who needed a safe place, but
there was "no place at the inn" for these helpless children. In essence, he assured us, "if you build
it, they will come." If the government
sees a person is serious enough to build a building, they will then help with
money for a director, care givers, expenses for the orphans physical needs, and
teachers when a school is built.
Nelson marks the building dimensions with sand.
(Our first introduction to the "village way." Nelson lays out the floor plan.
The builders got the building drawn on the ground
with dirt. Uuummm.
Will that really work?)
The builders and Budeli.
(The team was ready to kick this project
off! L to R: Nelson, Philemon, Budeli, Frank and
Philemon's brother.)
Pastor Budeli breaks the ground.
(Pastor Budeli struck the pick, and the
ground was broken.)
Volunteers.
(Volunteers came in several times to help accomplish critical parts of the
process.
We were under a 3 1/2 week
time span.)
Volunteers Praying.
(Praying in the trenches never hurts.
We needed all the help we could get.
The volunteers prayed for God to bless this land, and the building the
orphans would call home.)
Men making cement.
(I
was expecting a huge cement truck to burst upon the scene to make life easy.
But, NOOOOOO, it was the "village way" again.)
The men poured dirt and cement on the sand IN the
trenches, then proceeded to twist and turn the sand and cement. Instead of "turning hair into gold," they were turning
dirt, sand and water into cement...
Getting supplies in the Landie.
(Sam Simonenko joined us again from
California.
She was just in time to
get squashed in between baby mattresses and hula hoops.
It was just a little too
much, but we got it all over the mountains in fine shape.
Sam has become a very
vital member of our African Team.)
Women pounders
(They say an African woman is a force to be reckoned with.
"They also say, "Empower the African Woman, and she will
get the task done.
These women are powerful!
Here they filled dirt from the trenches in the room,
then, using a pole
with a 15 pound tin of cement on the bottom,
they pounded the loose dirt until
it was hard and compact. Nothing could resist them.)
Baby in the area.
(Our youngest volunteer was tolerant for
awhile without his Mommy.
But he began to sniffle, then whimper which vibrated
into an all out squall that demanded attention... NOW!
The Mommy, slung him over her back, tied
him snugly in place, picked up her pounder
and kept on pounding with her baby on
her back. What a woman!!! What an inspiration!)
"
What an African cement mixer" looks like.
(Another little surprise emerged
on the scene. Again, I expected something huge to happen,
but instead of a piece of
heavy machinery, two guys calmly made a circle banked by sand;
they dumped
cement on the sand and basin, filled the dirt basin with water
and began to
twist and turn the concoction as it thoroughly mixed.
Then they loaded it into wheel barrows and
walked it to the builders laying bricks.
Very heavy work, combined with
the angry heat, tends to suck all the energy right out of a man.)
Windows appear.
(Windows are being built in as the brick walls grow. The structure is
forming and beginning to look like a building.)
Earth digger.
("Jaws of the earth" lumbers onto our building site and began ripping a
gapping hole in the ground.
Our septic
system is in the birthing process. This is a whole other deal.
We will tell you
about the Challenge to trade a Septic Hole If the Author Eats A Mopani Worm."
It
is a long and grisly story...)
Workers on lunch break.
(These workers are hard working men and they only take one break at about
2:00 p.m. for lunch.
We bought them Mealie and chicken parts so they could
have their daily "pap," the only thing that really satisfies an African man's
hunger. Our dear friends Nelson and Frank are one of the Builder teams. Sam also brought them a daily treat of
oranges, bread and soft drinks, or other substantial snacks. These guys can put
away the food!)
The interior walls are constructed.
(What a thrill to watch the interior walls begin to take shape and grow.
Brick by brick we could witness Budeli's Vision transforming into a reality of
brick and mortar.
We prayed love into every brick and could feel the energy of
something bigger than ourselves.)
Sidney meeting with workers.
(Each morning we briefly met with the workers so we were always on the
same page. These men did not have plans or blueprints. They were building the
Palace of Mercy from a small drawing on notebook paper. Each day we briefly discussed what would be
done that day and what materials they needed. Since Masisi is in a forgotten
place,
it meant we had to drive at least 2 to 3 hours to a town big enough to
get supplies.)
We were "high class gofers." But we all happily did what had to be
done.
The work crew and us praying together.
(The South Africans are a loving and spiritual people. We prayed together
for this building, that God's hand move all of us to the greatness of this task.
That the building be blessed for the intended purpose and that their work was
building a refuge for the most vulnerable children in their midst.)
We also ask for your prayers as well. Several of you
have already been lifting us in prayer; for that we are very grateful.
Until next time... From the Bush with love ❤️,
Sidney
