An Oh So Special Thanksgiving!

 Thursday was a hard day to be away from my family on Thanksgiving, but I have really come to realize that I have so many things to be thankful for on this very special Thanksgiving! It will probably not be often in my life that I spend holidays away from my family and this Thanksgiving I was able to embrace the beautiful country of South Africa and be thankful for various things outside of my comfort zone. On Thursday we took a break from Emafini to spend the day with Vernon who works at Nelson Mandela University. He was kind enough to arrange a few different places for us to tour around Port Elizabeth!  

Mark! Telling us about his organization in the township!



We began by having coffee and tea at the University where we meet some of the staff and had a chance to talk with Vernon about the education system in South Africa. Then our tour began; we first visited an outreach organization that is located close to the university in the township. They were a Christian based organization who had so many different programs available to children living in the township. Mark, the person in charge of the organization, talked with us and gave our group a lot of background about the program and how they were reaching out to the children they were surrounded by. His compassion and love for the organization and the children were evident as he spoke. The difference that he and the other volunteers were making in the lives of these children brought tears to my eyes. He believed in the power of each child to do more with their lives and through this program they received hope, encouragement, and motivation that they might not have ever experienced in the absence of this organization. They were meeting the children’s basics needs by providing them with food, water, and clothing; while at the same time instilling values and an educational foundation that would hopefully allow them to dream big and further their lives. 



The Organizations Food Garden! They grow vegetables here to use in their soup kitchen.

Our second visit of the day was to Grey Junior School. This was an unbelievable school! The students there had a confidence and mannerisms that were impeccable and the classrooms where decorated with vibrate posters and various instructional tools. This was an all boy’s school that had many resources, spacious classrooms, and many extracurricular activities.

A picture of one of the buildings. This was a courtyard area.

Our third visit was to Kama Primary School. This was school that in many ways was very similar to Emafini, but very different as well. We toured the school and then received a surprise concert by a few of the upper grade students. They sang some very inspirational song that moved me to tears. They were confident in where they had come from, but confident of what path they desired for their life! Their voices where beautiful and I enjoyed every second of the four songs that they sang for us!

Students Singing!

Kama Primary was our last visit of the day and we were off to our “home” the bed and breakfast! As we walked through the door we were greeted by a very delicious smell! Anna (the mother of Billy Jean, who is the manager of the B&B) had really out done herself. I feel that by saying the feast is almost inappropriate because there was so so much food that it almost seems it was more than a feast! She and the staff had gone out of their way to cook us a traditional Thanksgiving meal and boy was it delicious!  As we ate this wonderful meal we laughed, talked, and shared things that we were thankful for! I will probably never share another Thanksgiving with this special group, but I can honestly say that it is a Thanksgiving that I will never forget! It is a Thanksgiving that my eyes where opened, my heart was touched, and I was thankful for exactly where I was at this time in my life!

Wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner!