The end of the year has come

Well, last week Tuesday was our last day of official classes. Darryl taught class in the morning and then we had a party for the After School students afterwards. The party was interesting, fun, but also pretty disappointing. I had to use my teacher voice. Sometimes I forget that these kids are kids and I can't expect them to be super-students because they have very little. They can still be greedy, still be whiny, still be unappreciative. We had a good time, but there were glimpses of frustration in dealing with my own conception of the students.

We wrapped up the bridging classes with three things: Darryl's intense leadership series using one of John Maxwell's books, a research essay complete with citing and typing on our "new" computers, job shadowing, and the closing interviews. The interviews were incredible; the entire time I couldn't stop thinking how much I love these students and how honoured I feel being a part of their life.

On Saturday we had the graduation ceremony for the students. The students all bought a nice little outfit (compliments of the budget) so they can feel special on their special day and take pride in being the center of attention. The theme of the grad was "Bearing fruit" because it's really been on my heart (as one of the previous blogs showed), it had an impact on the students when I shared it in class, and because it seems appropriate now as they fly on their own, they must bear fruit. "This is to my father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples" John 15:8.

I couldn't believe how fancy the students were. The guys were dressed appropriately, wearing slacks and nice shirts and ties. Elvis even wore tan khaki pants, a baby blue shirt, and a baby blue and white argyle sweater vest over top. He was adorable! The girls though. ooooWOW. They had on the fanciest grad dresses ever and got their hair done the morning before at the "Saloon". (For some reason they call it a saloon here ... I tried to explain that a saloon is a tavern for cowboys). It was a beautiful beautiful day. I was so stressed, especially the day of. I woke up not wanting to go. As I got things set up, I got more and more excited. But then we didn't start for an hour after the time it was supposed to start. Africa. The students were about a half hour late arriving and THEN as soon as they arrived, the girls weren't even in their dresses. Africa.

But they got dressed and we walked down the aisle (to my least favourite song, the keeps bleeding keeps keeps bleeding song) like stars, everyone ululating. We had many guest speakers, encouraging the students and Darryl and I handed out certificates, sharing with all their family and friends what it is that makes each of these students so incredible. Mxolisi and Elvis were the student-appointed Valedictorians and so each delivered a speech. Sesinyana's brother, Surprise, surprised us with a really sweet dance. I've never seen anyone dance so sweet. Man it was awesome. Then after the grad, we (including one family member each of the students' choice) went to our place, prepared and ate a bazillion pizzas, watched Sister Act 2 and Mr. Bones and had a sleepover. In the morning we cooked French Toast then shipped them off. Sigh.

Now, I'd like to go through and talk about each student:

Mxolisi
He is one of the students I worried about. He isn't very strong academically and didn't get good results when he upgraded, so it didn't leave him with many options. But this is the man of love. Every time he preached, it was on love and how love is everything. He inspired Darryl and I tremendously and really challenged us to examine what we rooted everything in. His dream is to be a doctor. After he didn't have the marks for it, he wanted to be a nurse. The reason for this is because he's been to many clinics and has seen doctors and nurses treating the patients poorly. He says they would get angry at them and yell at them. This hurts him deeply and wants to nurse people to health with not only medicine, but love. Darryl and I didn't know how this would happen, as his marks and academic capabilities do not reflect what is needed to study medicine. But, God knows the desires of our hearts. I set Mxolisi up with Acts Hospice. Acts Clinic is one of the best Aids clinics in the world and is situated right across the road from us. The hospice, however, is in the community of Masoyi. So Mxolisi went and job shadowed there. He made beds, he bathed patients, he did paper work. It was incredible. And they loved him and have asked for him to return. So he has been returning. This is an incredible opportunity and we're hoping something will come of it. He went back one day to discover a couple of the patients he was nursing had died. I asked if it bothered him and he said it's sad, but the work requires a strong heart and lots of love and he strongly believes he possesses that.

Nokuzola
Nokuzola is an incredibly bright student, although her high school marks don't reflect it. Her grade 12 year found her mourning the death of her mother and taking on new responsibilities, like parenting her sister. She is a very well-grounded girl. She is solid in her faith and the joy that stems from this radiates from her face. She is absolutely beautiful. Her dream is to be a social worker. She qualified for a Social Auxiliary Work program at a small training institute called Zigna. We applied and she got accepted, just last week actually. She has been deeply challenged by Proverbs 30:8-9 and really challenged the rest of us with it also. God has placed this on her heart and she wants to advocate on behalf of those that cannot. There is a law in South Africa that allows girls as young as 12 to legally get abortions and this troubles her deeply. She feels that it only encourages young girls to be sexually active. She has a vision of starting a women's forum and challenging the government to have this changed. A big, but admirable vision.


Elvis
This man is incredible. He just turned 19 but has a hunger for wisdom I haven't seen in anyone that young and God really has blessed him with wisdom. He is a really good listener. He wants to grow and learn and knows the best way to do this is to listen and take correction. In return, he has experienced much growth. It was hard to imagine this because when I first met him I was so impressed that I wasn't sure where he could go from there. But man did he go. He also wants to be a Social Worker and this is a little closer to possible for him because he graduated with Exemption (the bare minimum level of distinction in order to apply for university). He applied to University of Limpopo and University of Venda. We're still waiting back to hear. We asked him what his vision was, what really makes his heart pound and he says he wants to be someone of influence. He sees what is happening in the community and desperately wants to change attitudes. He gave examples of women marrying men without love and how that is the reason for marriages breaking down and people sleeping around. He also discussed people attitudes regarding entitlement. He mentioned that his people just feel that they should receive handouts all the time. They see white people as being rich and feel that the white people should just give to them. He wants to loudly express that people have to work hard to get what they desire. He understands that in order for people to listen to him, he needs to be known and credible. This is why he wants to study. We asked what he will do if he doesn't get accepted into University this year. He says he will study. We ask what if there is no way he can study. He says he will study. This is Elvis. He wants to study.

Sesinyana
I've spoken a lot about Sesinyana, just because I think so highly of her. This girl has the biggest heart for the fatherless. Seriously, every time I go to her house, she has at least 5 kids sitting around visiting with her. She attracts children. She is safe and her home is safe place for them. She listens to them and shows them they are valued. She told me one day that every time she meets a new orphans, it motivates her. I'm not sure exactly what this means, but I think it's huge. We offered her the chance to be a volunteer at Hands at Work. Her heart and her vision is in line with the vision of Hands. She wants to reach out to the poor and fatherless, and as do we. She is a strong leader and her faith and strength prove her to be richer in character than many others. This is a huge leap of faith for her and for us. We don't have the funds to support her right now, but we are trusting people will want to support her in this. She has the capacity to make a huge impact not only in the communities we work in, but even in our own little community. It's going to be a huge challenge for her and a huge challenge for us, but it is so exciting. That is what Forward is all about. We cast the biblical mandate of reaching the poorest of the poor and raise them up as African leaders, empowering them to make an impact. We're hoping she accepts, but honestly I am so confident that she will make a huge impact on the fatherless no matter what. It is where her heart is and if there is one thing about Sesinyana, it's that the fire in her heart can never be taken from her.

Thapelo
This guy is the funniest. He's always dancing and singing. He likes to think he's Usher and every time he does his little smooth moves, I just can't contain the laughter... nor can I refrain from copying. Unfortunately, Thapelo didn't pass Grade 12 and when he upgraded, his results got lost in the system. It's been a huge struggle all year for him and for us. He wants to be an Engineer but without Grade 12, it's nearly impossible. Maybe it's safe to say it is impossible. Thapelo's heart is also in teaching about HIV/AIDS. He says the schools aren't doing a good enough job because girls are still getting Sugar Daddies and falling pregnant and people are still contracting the virus. Lifestyles are NOT changing. He would like to work with the schools and help them to teach it better. Coming from a very poor background, being orphaned, and knowing what kids do these days, he would be able to add a lot.

Mduduzi
He has a very quiet and humble spirit. He's someone everyone in the class admires and appreciates. My favourite thing about him is his smile. His smile is HUGE and it honestly raises the spirits of everyone around him. You can spot him from very far away because all you can see is white. He has a passion for agriculture and has recently applied to Lowveld College of Agriculture. He doesn't dance like the other guys, but once in a while he'll bust a move and it is the funniest thing in the world. Mduduzi improved tremendously academically. His work went from incomprehensible to strong and clear. At the interview, he expressed his new and deep relationship with God. He had a relationship with God before but now

Patricia
Patricia rules. She calls me "Make" (Mother) and I return the term of endearment. She is so passionate and very vocal about it. She is a voice for her people. She is not scared to speak up about what is happening to her people and she is not scared to address her people about the issues. Her heart is with orphans. She got accepted to Zigna as well with Zola and will be training come January to be a Social Auxiliary Worker. Her dream is to have a place like Masoyi Home-based Care. She loves to hear children laughing and playing. She talks about how these kids (like her once and still now) go to school or the care center all day and then go home only wishing that it was morning again so they could be away from home and back in school laughing with friends and feeling fearless. During the interview we asked what she will do if she doesn't get into Zigna. She said she will volunteer at Masoyi Home-based Care because she does not want to see it fall. I asked how she would manage living if she's volunteering, and if her aunt would support her just volunteering instead of getting a job. She says her aunt barely supports her now and she's surviving. She'll find a way to survive.

My heart will remain with these guys forever.

PS - I have a rip-roaring sunburn. The sun punished me good.
PPS - Hi Jon.