A day of rest

This morning we attended the orphanage church.  There is something very freeing about walking to church.  We enjoyed some great Zulu music led by the older children at the orphanage.  We were warmly received by them.  Interestingly, the older children didn’t know Thandokuhle’s name but they knew Miranda.  We were welcomed as “Miranda’s family” and were asked to stand to be greeted with a round of applause.  There is a youth pastor on staff at the orphanage and even though he gave the message in English, I can’t say I got a lot out of it.  I was quite distracted by trying to keep a 4 year old and 5 year old relatively still and quiet.  However, there is something about being in a simple church where the service is led by orphaned teens and looking out the window at the uninhabited hills of a game reserve that is deeply moving.

This afternoon we took another walk through the beautiful hills.  I love the anticipation of scanning the brush to see if you can spot an animal.  Miranda even got excited about looking for signs of animals and excitedly pointed out every mound of poop she saw!  We enjoyed seeing two different herds of wildebeest and then we saw this beauty.

Aside from an occasional electric line we could see nothing manmade and we only heard the sounds of nature.  A great way to spend the afternoon!

Thandokuhle continues to learn English.  She now knows common phrases like “Wash hands” and “Good job”.  She has also learned other words like “no”, “mine”, and “no touching” to prevent Miranda from playing with her toys.  Another favorite is “ouch”.  She loves to listen to books and is starting to learn words that are repeated in them.  It is fun to see her learn a few words each day.