Monday, August 5, 2013

You Only Turn 21 In South Africa Once!

Thursday, the 27th of June, was just like any other day.  It was Heidi's and my last day at our Children's Camp with the best kids we could have hoped for and I was really looking forward to spending the day with them.  It also happened to be my 21st birthday, and though I intended to not make a big deal about it, that was not the intention of anyone else around me...

Wednesday night, Heidi and I needed to turn in fairly early as we were both quite tired, but that did not stop us from ringing in my birthday at midnight.  At 11:30pm, we heard someone shouting outside the window, and we spent the next half hour hanging out the bathroom window watching a man and his girlfriend try to push there car out of a hole and try to get the attention of every passing car, swearing loudly all the while.  We lost interest by midnight and decided to get to sleep, but not before celebrating that I was finally 21!  Heidi popped the "bubbly" (and by that I mean she popped open the Dasani water bottle on my nightstand and threw the cap at me) and wished me a happy birthday.  Just before falling asleep, I also received the most beautiful birthday message via text message from one of the brothers who was on the road to Malawi, and I went to sleep very happy.

Waking up was not the easiest as we were being picked up at 7:30.  I woke up with a smile knowing that I was 21, but then I realized that I got a bit of a late start...specifically, I rolled out of bed at 7:10, jumped in the shower, and somehow was ready to go at 7:30...it must have been a birthday miracle!  As I ran down the stairs to jump in Lois' car, I was greeted by Father Joe who had a birthday wish and a hug for me...so nice of him!  When I got outside, I realized that South Africa picked today to show us our first rainfall...and boy did it rain!

We got to the office and prepared the morning tea for the arrival of the children and we went on with our day as normal.  We did our morning check-ins followed by the day's activities and lessons, which today included "I am a hero because..." and talking about a shining moment in their lives in order to promote optimism and resilience today and for the future.  At one point, I walked past the room the kids were working with, and the oldest stopped me and adamantly told me that I could not come in...I suspected that some birthday surpise may have been in the works, but as Heidi came to find, I am easily surprised.  At lunch, Lois told us that because it was our last day, the children wanted to do a traditional Zulu dance for us, and I totally bought it.  I waited anxiously as they went outside to prepare, and was so surprised when they ran back into the building dancing, singing a happy birthday song personalized with my name, and carrying a cake!  It was the cutest, most wonderful surprise!  Heidi even got a video!

We returned to Emaphethelweni exhausted around 5pm, and just as I was saying how much I needed to go to sleep right after dinner (when does that ever really get to happen?), Fr. Joe appeared in the doorway and asked "So what's the plan for tonight?"  Completely clueless, I looked at Heidi who caved and told me that there were a few people coming over after dinner!  So after dinner, Marie-Chantal, Delphine, Br. Philippe, and all of the Philippians (as Fr. Pheko likes to call them) arrived!  I was not expecting any big deal for my birthday, but Thursday night I was surrounded by many wonderful people as they sang Happy Birthday to me, we ate cake, and we sat around visiting and taking pictures.  They even gave me three cards and a lovely gift of a beautiful beaded necklace and a jewelry bowl in the colors of the South African flag.  If Heidi does not mind me quoting her, in one of my cards she wrote me a lovely message: "I hope you feel all the love that is surrounding you here."  There was no doubt, especially tonight, that I was, that we both were, surrounded by so much love, and we could not have been more blessed.  We are no longer guests at Emaphethelweni.  We are part of a wonderful family.