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We’ve been back in ministry for a few weeks now so I thought
I would update everyone on what has been happening!
Mondays and Wednesdays from 1-5 my ministry team and I work
at Algoa Frail
Care Center.
As I explained before, this is a residential center for children with severe
disabilities. The center is divided into 4 wards with each one housing children
with different levels of functioning. All together there are 250 patients.
There are nurses that rotate between the wards every few months. They work 12
hour shifts 2 or 3 days in a row, and then get 2 or 3 days off. We have been
splitting our time there between the different wards. This inconsistency
obviously makes it difficult to get to know both the nurses and the children.
Heloise is the occupational therapist who has been such a blessing to us. She
is a young, white, Afrikaans woman who shows us what to do every time we go,
answers our questions, and encourages us.
Depending on the ward we are in on a particular day, our
ministry will look different. Bambino is the ward with the lowest functioning
children. These kids lay in cribs all day long, their limbs are usually mangled
and deformed, many of them have feeding tubes. When we are in Bambino we walk
around to the kids, talk and sing to them, rub their arms, hold their hands. We
also try to get to know the nurses, observe how they interact with the kids,
and share about why we are in Africa. Heloise plans to
start a sensory integration program with the children in Bambino. Once she
trains us in this program we will be able to use objects with different
textures, appearances, sounds and smells to stimulate the patients’ senses.
Harmony and Haven are the higher functioning wards. Harmony
is for girls and Haven is for boys. Many of these children can walk or at least
crawl. They have more use of their limbs, and can understand speech and respond
verbally. In these wards we do crafts,
play with toys, and sing with the kids. I talked to Heloise last week about
starting a music time once a week with some of the patients from these two
wards. Basically I would use singing, playing simple instruments, dancing, and
other music activities to help improve motor, verbal, and cognitive skills in
these patients. And they would have fun doing it! I’m not quite sure how its going to work yet,
but I’m excited to try some new things out and give these patients some new and
fun experiences.
Heloise has also asked us to help paint a few murals on the
walls in one of the wards, so we will start working on that soon.
At Virginia‘s crèche (daycare), we are slowly getting to
know Virginia and her helper Monica, as well as the children and their parents.
Virginia has been taking care of children for 18
years. She runs this daycare out of her home, which is already overcrowded.
Right now Virginia is housing her children and grandchildren in
her tiny house. She takes care of her family, runs the crèche, cooks, cleans,
and is involved in her church. We hope to encourage her and to take some of the
workload off of her hands when we are there during the week. We do her laundry,
wash her dishes, change diapers, pick up the mess, and play with the kids.
I have really gotten
a soft spot in my heart for Monica. She is in her 20s and has a 1 year old son.
I’ve tried to be really intentional in building a relationship with her. Please
pray that the relationship would continue to develop, and that Monica would
feel comfortable opening up to us.
It seems like we are doing such small tasks in a places
where there is so much need. But I found encouragement from 1 Corinthians
15:58. It says “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not
in vain.”
I really feel that God has given my ministry team a vision
of what He wants to do at both Algoa and at Virginia’s.
I can’t wait to see what He does next!
