General news

The major news from the last couple of weeks:

1. Rose has gone back to the UK after getting stranded here for an extra week because of the volcano in Iceland. It was lovely to have her visit for 3 weeks and of course she spoilt me!

2. We have been trying to visit one of my little boys at Mapheo for the last few weeks. Everytime we've been to the house there's been no one home and he hasn't been to Mapheo or church for a few weeks. Then the day before Rose flew home we finally found his mum waiting at the side of the road for a taxi. We stopped and chatted to her to find that he was in hospital in Bethlehem for a 'rash'. She told us he'd been there for a week but she hadn't seen him as she couldn't afford the taxi fare there. I gave her the money she needed and said I would also try and visit him. He's only 6 so the thought of him being in the state hospital (which isn't very nice) with no one visiting was heartbreaking. So on the way up to the airport with Rose the next day I stopped at the hospital. What I found out was even more heartbreaking - he'd actually been there for 2 weeks having been admitted with the measles, but the doctor had discharged him a week previously as he was now well. However the nurses were finding it impossible to get in touch with his mum to come and collect him. When he saw me he came racing down the corridor full of smiles and gave me a big hug. I gave him some food and toys which he promptly took to share with his little friend. The nurses asked me to take him home as the doctor was threatening to put him into a childrens home. It was so traumatic. But I had to leave him there as I was on my way to Jo'burg to drop Rose at the airport and I wasn't sure if his mum would be home and ready to take him. Now he has been picked up by an uncle who lives in a different town so he's still not back in Clarens. This means he's missing school yet again. It's so frustrating dealing with this family as he is a gorgeous little boy but his mum just doesn't seem to want him. She's living with a man who's not his father and has just had a new baby. This has meant that her boyfriend has started being very difficult about the older child being around. Please pray that she would be saved and come to realise her responsibility as a mother, and to understand the gift that this beautiful boy is.

3. I've moved house - I've moved in with a young couple from church to save some money. I moved at the weekend so am still getting used to it, but I think it's going to be fun. The drawback is my loss of internet connection so now I have to use the wifi service at the bakery, which is a bit of a hassle.