Who, What, Where, When?!

My name is Emily. I am a young women who loves and fears The Lord Jesus. I am currently at Uni studying Psychology and Primary Education in my third year and can't wait to teach!! I have a church family, a CU family, a loving boyfriend and a family I live with, who I love so deeply!

I always wanted to go back overseas to volunteer after my time in Vietnam. In 2010, a very young adult went on a journey to help in a local autistic preschool. The work was challenging but so glorifying to God. 


At the end of this year I will be heading over to South Africa for 3 months to help at The Love of Christ home for abandoned children. There I will be helping care for the children in the nursery. This ranges from 1 day old infants to cheery and active 4 year olds! 


The children in the nursery are all there for different reasons. Many women in South Africa are weakened by HIV, and significant numbers of these ladies become pregnant before finding out that they are infected. In this situation mothers often deliver their babies prematurely, and are ill-equipped to provide for or cope with a fragile infant who often requires a lot of care and attention. Faced with few alternatives, these mothers often leave the hospital after delivering their baby, and do not return. Other babies are there because there parents simply do not have the resources to care for a newborn. Some have been found abandoned or neglected in the community (in dustbins, alleyways, or in the veld). 

TLC commits to showing these babies the love and affection they deserve during the interem. Some of the babies will return to the parents, others will be adopted into new families, both in South Africa and internationally. Some of the babies, often because they have HIV or another chronic illness, are not able to find new families willing to adopt them, and in this case TLC adopts and invites them into the TLC forever family. In some cases, however, a infant may come to TLC with only a short amount of time left on this earth. These children come to TLC so they can be loved, held and comforted in their final hours. 

I will be another helping hand in the nursery. This means I will be doing so many different things! Bathing, changing nappies, feeding, comforting, cuddling, giving medicine, taking babies to the doctor, teaching, dressing, cleaning, washing- just to name a few!

As you can imagine it is going to be a big challenging trip. One that I am sure will bring glory to my Saviour and in the process really stretch, challenge and sanctify me! 

And thats the main reason for this blog! So I can share the way God is growing me and working in South Africa with others. Because He is a big, mighty God who is powerful and sovereign even when things look bleak. And he has his hands over each of those children at TLC.