Day One and other fun stuff

Yesterday (Friday) was my first day at Living Hope....I woke up at 3 am and willed myself to go back to sleep until 5:30 and then I couldn't stand it anymore and got up anyway. Bummer! That jet lag got the best of me this time. Anyway, so my day started early but it was great to have a quiet volunteer house (there are 15-17 other volunteers here mostly under the age of 21) to do my devotional and take in the day. Rainy and cold basically summed it up, but that was ok. I was excited to begin helping out!

I went to the prevention center, Living Hope's main campus, and had Life Skill Educator (LSE) training to prepare for next week. This is where they plan the lessons for kid's and teen's clubs for the week. Right now they are also planning the Wait For Me concert, which kicks off their Wait For Me campaign in the townships. Kids will sign a commitment to be faithful and abstinent until marriage (the LSE's have been doing a huge push in the local schools in order to get kid's to commit) and in turn they get to be a part of this awesome celebration. The OCC team got the bracelets for the event made and I brought them over on the plane. And I'm super excited because the team will be here when the concert happens on the 31st. I can't wait for them to be a part of it! :)

After LSE training, we were busy getting some information ready for the LSE's for their sexual abuse lessons next week. All of the kid's and teen's clubs, in light of the sex trafficking issues surrounding the World Cup, have been getting information and training about sex trafficking, strangers, and sexual abuse issues. This is a very important lesson so please pray that children here take it to heart and protect themselves against victimization. It hurts my heart to think that, according to one statistic from 2008, that 24,892 rapes occurred in S. Africa. Many of these were vulnerable children; those with little money, food, shelter, etc. You can go to this website for more information and a video put on by S. African children on the dangers and realities of sex trafficking in S.A. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VxD3RmRUf0&feature=player_embedded#at=246

I also found out that I will be working in the mornings next week with an amazing support group leader, Gail, and helping her with her support groups. I'll be giving some talks about stress management, which will be challenging but hopefully helpful to the people of Overcome Heights. In the afternoons, I'll be joining my wonderful friend Shagmie for teen's club and another LSE Natalie for kid's club, also in Overcome. This starts on Monday. I can't wait to see the kids!! Whoo hoo! :)

Today (Saturday) was awesome. I was able to go out with some long term volunteers and my friend Danielle and we went to the Old Biscuit Mill, which is in a place called Woodstock. It is an open air farmer's market kind of place, with awesome shops and amazing food. It was great! Today has been so sunny and beautiful. :) No coats and jackets today. Just the amazing sun and 65 degrees. Tonight we are going to a restaurant down by the water...yummy! And for all of you OCC teamers I was able to go to home (aka the Team House) last night and it was wonderful to be back. I can't wait for you guys to see it soon.

Anyway, I love all of my wonderful friends and family back home. Thank you for reading my blog and catching up. Please feel free to send me comments back. It's always nice to hear from you. :)

Lots of love ~ Jaclyn