Need Your Help

South Africa is a country where the life expectancy is 52 years, because of limited access to health care. Where 1/4 of the population live off less than $1.50 Australian a day. Where citizens spend more time at funerals than weddings, haircuts or grocery shopping. I would like to do some thing about this, but I need your help! 

I would really like to raise some money to take over to The Love of Christ home for abandoned children, where I am heading for 3 months. My trip has already been covered for financially, I am just hoping to take some money over to the home, so that they can continue doing the great work they do - things like buying nappies, educating the children, getting medication, clothing and food for the kids etc. Our money buys a lot over there and every dollar is such a help!

So I am having a little dessert and games afternoon to raise some money and so people can hear about the great work they are doing over there. There will be a box at the door where you can make a donation for entry, it can be as little or as much as you would like. I am not looking for a certain amount of money or a large amount of money, each dollar given is a dollar more the home has than it did yesterday and a big help! Every dollar which is put in the box I will take directly to Africa and will be spent on the children.

ALL are welcome to come! 

It is at Christ Church Gladesville at 2pm on the 2nd of November. 
 

I really appreciate your support and partnership in this. 

Injections

Not my favourite thing in the world, but very important for what I am soon to do.

It's starting to hit home how close to going I am now.

Calling All Crafters!

I have been inspired!

I was reading through a great little book about making toys for children and I have been inspired to make some toys for the little ones in South Africa!

I know I could just as easily buy toys, but these ones come with love!

So far I have made...


Debo the donkey (I wanted to name it after my mum, but she wasnt so keen. So this was the compromise.)

And I am half way through knitting a teddy bear

But I need some help!

I only have 2 hands and sadly I cant spend all day crafting. So if you have any crafty ability and want to take the challenge with me to make a toy for a little one in Africa, I would love your help! It doesnt need to be fancy or big, just made with love!

Because I am sure the little ones over in South Africa would be so thankful for anything made with such love!

Pack Pack Packing

In 2 months tomorrow I shall be stepping onto a plane to Africa!

I am starting to really get both excited and nervous.

And I have started to pack.

Call me crazy, but I am trying to be super organised. Organisation is not always a word which is in my dictionary. Often I like to pack the night before, sometimes even 10 minutes before I leave. So I am trying to turn over a new leaf and be organised!

So far I have put a first aid kit together, cause all the things to go in it were sitting on my desk waiting to go. But I am counting it as a step in the right direction.

We shall have to see how many more steps I will be making before the night before my flight...

Home Haircuts

Uni has many perks and I seriously enjoy it so much, but one of the big downsides is that it doesnt leave much time for earning money. I have been so blessed with an amazing job at a pharmacy that I absolutely love, but lets face it, when I am working 2 mornings a week I am not exactly bringing in the millions. Which makes it a little difficult to save for Africa!

I came to the decision a while back that I wasnt going to ask for any financial support for my own trip over to TLC (well execpt for my lovely parents who have offered to pay for my insurance. Thanks mum and dad!). If people wish to financially support what I am doing, I would rather that money be given directly to TLC as I think that is a better use of the money long term.

So to help me save for my trip I have started employing some interesting cost cutting adventures.

For those who dont know hair cuts in Sydney can be expensive! For a girl, the cheapest you could probs get it for would be about $20.

So on Monday I saved and put $20 towards Africa by cutting my own hair.

It may not seem like much but in my world every little bit counts.

And it doesnt look to bad!

a great way to support the work which is happening at TLC is
to financially support them which can be done by making a once off
donation or adopting a cot, both which can be done through their website:
http://www.tlc.org.za/donate_details.html?tab=2#TabbedPanels1

Flights, Flights, Flights!

I strongly dislike flying.

The small space, the long hours, the yucky food.

I know its exciting and it means that I am getting to travel somewhere, but I just dont like it. Anything over 4 hours is just too long!

My dislike of flying started when I travelled to Thailand when I was 17 with my family. I think it is a 8 hour flight and I dont think I had prepared myself for how long that actually is on a plane is. I couldnt sit still at all! I just wanted to walk around, do some exercise, lie flat, ANYTHING but continue to sit in an uncomfortable chair!

My trip to Vietnam was worse. It took 24 hours all up due to a extremely long lay over in Bangkok.

And now I am faced with the worst decision every! Flights to South Africa from Sydney are really weird. So you can pay a heap of money and get a direct flight and you will be there in 12 hours. Alternately you can save yourself $1,500 and take an exotic detour to Abu Dhabi. For those who don't know your geography, its like driving to Darwin on your way from Sydney to Perth. It also more than doubles the trip time.

See my dilemma?!

If only flights were more simple.

My turtle bag packed and about to fly home from Vietnam.

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.