Category Archives: Parenting

In Search of Dinosaur Tracks

day 12 Leribe and Nat'l ParkWMToday we headed to the town of Leribe, just 20 minutes by car from Mary’s home. We visited a shop that has beautiful weaving so made by people with developmental disabilities. Then we headed down the road another 20 minutes or so in search of dinosaur tracks. The guidebook tells us that there are many Lesothaurus tracks behind the Church, on a ledge that has fallen.

As we travelled down a dirt road that would lead us to the Church, 2 men were waiting to offer their services as our guide for a fee. The guidebook had told us to expect this and so we agreed. The fee seemed high, given that they were just leading us to the backyard of the Church. I was certain, we could find it on our own. And yet, one look at their clothing was all the encouragement we needed to employ their services. Their clothing was ragged. One of the men wore a pair of tennis shoes that were barely more than thin soles held together by the shoestrings. It was evident that the fee they were asking was necessary.

They lead us to the Church. As we walked behind the Church, I expected to see a large stone nearby with dinosaur tracks on it. I started looking at every large rock in the vicinity. The guides caught up with us and pointed up, up, up. p a steep hill were large overhanging ledges. This is where we would find our tracks.

We started to follow them up the hill. I made it about 5 to 10 minutes in when it became clear to all of us, that I was not going to make it up to the overhang. The respiratory infection had stopped me in my tracks. Mary insisted on staying with me, so she and I had wonderful Mother Daughter time, while the guys headed on up the hill. After they had been gone for 15 minutes, my breathing had slowed down. I decided to try again. I did not even make it 5 minutes, before my lungs began to burn and my breathing became labored. It is the first time in my life, that I was unable to do something physical that I had set my mind on doing.

I settled in to enjoy this blessed time alone with Mary. I took pictures of her and her beautiful pregnant belly. We laughed and talked and breathed in the preciousness of this time together.

The guys made it down and filled us in. Sam said it was the highlight of the trip for him so far. They showed us the pictures of the tracks. They were so grateful for the guides. They did not think they would have been able to find the tracks without their help. The fee that I originally considered charity, was in fact fair payment for a job well done.

 

Cultural Differences on Motherhood

DSC_0155bwmTonight Will, Sam, Mary, Paul and Sammy went to Paul’s parent’s for dinner. Sam and I stayed in bed. After dinner, Paul’s parents came back to the house to meet us. They said hello to Sam as he laid in bed. I got up and came out to the living room for a short visit.

Mary’s relationship with Paul’s parents as well as their relationship with Sammy has been confusing to me. When Mary and Paul got married, she was required to live with Paul’s parents for the first 3 months of their marriage to learn how to take care of Paul. This was confusing to me. Paul is a healthy young man. He does not have any special needs. Mary patiently told me that this is part of their culture.

When Mary got pregnant with Sammy, she was not allowed to live with Paul for the last trimester of her pregnancy, nor for the first few months after Sammy was born. It seems that there is a cultural belief that having sex during this time could cause the baby to become blind or disabled. Mary lived with her parents for the last trimester and then for the fist 2 months after the Sammy was born. After that she had to move into Paul’s parent’s home for a few months.

When I would ask her the baby’s name for a long time she would say that she did not know. It was Paul’s parents who would name him. I could not imagine this. In fact, Paul’s parents did give him his Basotho name and then Mary and Paul gave him his English name – Sammy.

Paul’s parents have as much and perhaps more say in the raising of Sammy as Mary does. He lives in their home during the week and comes home to Mary and Paul’s house on the weekends. They can come and get him whenever they want. This has been very confusing to me. Mary’s response is, “It is my culture.” Tonight as I sat with Paul’s parents, his mother pointed at Sammy and said, “That is my last born.” I thought my head was going to explode. That comment made no sense to me. Her last born? Wasn’t it Mary who was in labor for 2 days to give birth to that child? Wasn’t Sammy her child? I had a difficult time reminding myself that I was there to grow in my understanding of the culture, not to judge it.

The Work of this Holy Woman Takes Root in My Heart

Sr. JulianaSr. Juliana
Woman of Compassion
Reaching out in Love
Becoming home to each child in need.
Following her Jesus who says,
“Let the children come to me.”
Her little ones,
Her Jesus,
Call her name and she Responds,
“I am here.”
-Kim Colella

 

 

Bus Driver Niko

DSC_0925wmNiko has created quite the bond with the pre-school children. Every morning he picks them up and takes them to school and every afternoon he brings them home. Today we went to the Center early to witness this morning ritual. Niko parks next door at the Bishops compound because it is easier then driving down the road full of pot holes to the Center. He then walks around a fence to get to the Center and fetches the little ones. Once they all have their coats and shoes on, together they trudge back to the van. Halfway to the van all 5 children stopped. The four boys unzipped their pants and took a pee, while the little girl, pulled down her tights and hiked up her skirt as she squatted to relieve herself. Right there where they were they just decided now is the time and this is the place. I giggled at their sweetness.

Sweet Goodbyes

DSC_0875 wmTonight we said our goodbyes. When we come back tomorrow morning all the children, except for the preschoolers and babies, will have left for school. I pray that the time we spent here will be a blessing in some small way on the children and matrons who live here. I pray that our time here will have an impact on Sam and Will. I pray that seeds of compassion and generosity and deep gratitude will take root in their hearts and that as they reenter there lives in the U.S. that they will do so knowing that they are a part of a larger world, a larger reality then their lives in Tacoma. May the spirit of this place go with us.

Grocery Shopping

DSC_0793While we have been here the children have been eating mostly papa, milk and morejo(greens). The pantry is quite bare. Today we took Sr. Juliana shopping for food. We have $1000.00 that was donated by our friends and family for food and formula. It is exciting to be able to provide this gift to the center in the name of our community. Our hope was to spend ½ of the funds today and to leave the other half to replenish the pantry as needed.

Sr. Julianna took us to Fairways Grocery store. Most of the stores in Lesotho are owned by the Chinese. They are cheaper, but the quality of the food is not good. Sr. Julianna is very clear that she does not want to support the Chinese stores. So we went to Fairways. Fairways is bigger than a 7-11 but smaller than most U.S. Grocery stores. Perhaps it is about the size of the Grocery Outlet in Tacoma.The biggest difference is that there may be 2 different brands of a similar product instead of the many different brands that you find in a U.S. grocery store. We were able to buy large quantities of rice, frozen chicken, canned fish, beans, bread, meat, papa, formula, and cleaning supplies at Fairways. From the local stalls outside we bought fruits and vegetables. We loaded it all into the van. As we drove home, I asked Sister Julianna how long these supplies would last. She replied, “2-3 months.” We spent about $600.00. Imagine feeding 20 children and 3 adults on $600.00 for 2-3 months. Amazing!

A Little Too Concrete!

Too concrete b wmWe returned to the center excited to do something to concrete to help the St. Camillus Center. Sam and Will went out to help in the field. They are preparing the ground this week so that they can plant 12,000 cabbages next week. It was hard work. The land is so dry that it was like breaking up concrete. The workers had been at it all day. Sam and Will lasted only an hour or two. Then they came in and Will played soccer with the kids, while Sam, Niko and I took Sr. Julianna grocery shopping.

Concert for the Preschool

Day 9c wmAfter the Bishop’s concert , we headed over to the Preschool.  This is the school that the children from the St. Camillus Center attend.  Being with these precious little ones was a fun way to end the concert series.

To be honest, I am relieved that the concerts are done. The gifts of this experience for Sam and Will are tremendous.  I am grateful for all the time and energy that was put in to give them this experience and I am ready to be at the Center without the scheduled pressure of another concert. I am ready to have time to just live the life of and to be of service to the St. Camillus Center. 5 concerts in 4 days has really limited the time we have had to be at the Center. Of course, all the children, except for the babies and for the oldest, Slindle, were at school all day. So there would not have been much for us to do, except perhaps work on projects. I am ready to do something concrete for the St. Camilllus Center.

Airport Excitement

IMG_2507WMWe left our house at 5:30 am overloaded with excitement and 8 checked and 4 carry on suitcases. Will’s mom, Ann, drove our neighbor’s van and his dad, James, drove his car to manage it all. Halfway to the airport we realized that Niko did not have his driver’s license. A moment of quick thinking had us off the freeway, Will and few items of luggage squished into the van with the rest of us, and James on his way to our home to get the license.

As we maneuvered all the baggage through checkin, I prayed that all the bags would meet their expected weight restrictions and that the 2 bags that were each over the size restriction by an inch would go through without notice. As each bag was weighed and thrown onto the conveyor belt without comment, I breathed a little deeper.

The next hurdle was clearing the South African government restrictions for traveling with minors. Just a month ago they instituted new requirements that minors traveling with their parent’s must have both a passport and a stamped birth certificate. Minor’s traveling with anyone but their parent’s must have a signed and notarized affidavit from each parent. The beautiful young woman checked over these items thoroughly. Then she called over her supervisor, who studied each item with scrutiny. They were very clear that if our documents did not meet the requirements, we would not be allowed into S. Africa. Again I found myself holding my breath as the minutes ticked by and still we waited for clearance.

As we waited, I took a deep breath and said a prayer. Immediately, I felt the presence of a very large protective angel standing to my left. I breathed a breath of gratitude and relaxed into the knowing that all would be well. Just as we were cleared and checked in, James arrived with Niko’s license and we were ready!

Preparations

It is almost time for us to leave. These past weeks have been spent packing and repacking the countless donations that have been put Into our care: Soccer balls, clothing, jackets, hats, shoes, socks, school, supplies and books challenge the seams of our suitcases. Meeting the weight and size restrictions challenge our minds. We are each allowed 2-50 lb bags, plus a carry on. Each of our checked bags can measure no more than 59 inches, our carry ons must be under 29 inches. Filling each bag with just enough heavy items with just enough light items so,that the bags fill the space and meet but do not go over the size restrictions has been a giant math puzzle. We finally had our 8 checked bags ready. I looked around the room and still there were so many beautiful items waiting to be packed. I called our airlines and discovered that we could add up to 25 lb per suitcase for an added cost of $50.00 each. Back to the Math problems. Which suitcases have more space to hold additional items? Which suitcases have heavy items that can be exchanged for light items without going over the size restrictions? The shuffling began and many hours later we had 40 additional pounds added for a total of 440lbs of donations ready to be delivered to Lesotho, in the name of our incredible community.