Day 4: The Vast Expanse of the Heart and Soul

930AM

The ladies from Harrisonburg arrived yesterday. They were really tired but they sat through our clinic at the church, listened to mine and Jarred's obnoxious banter over dinner and then stayed up late making paper plate tambourines and cupcake wrapper flowers to prepare for today's visit to the orphan care center. They inspire me. I hope that I can be of some use today.

1245PM

People die everywhere. Here they just die alot. It's good business for stone companies. We visited the cemetery today. There were so many graves. Out of respect, I didn't take pictures of the smallest. But I will describe them.

They put them all together in one block because it's more efficient that way. All of the adult graves are adorned with trinkets like plates and cups and such needful things, a custom of the local ancestral beliefs. But the children's graves are covered with brightly colored toys, bows, ribbon, painted cups, dolls...like that. From a distance it looks like the detritus of some holiday parade. Not all of the parents could afford stones. But then not all of the children had parents.

I was at war with myself as we walked because I was determined to keep it together. I did, mostly, but I could not speak. I stared for a long time past the childrens' graves at the bulldozers digging new rows for the weekend.

5PM

Some of you live in South Africa, and I want you to know that I find this country both beautiful and familiar. Some vistas seem almost like northern Arizona. The people I've met are amazing. We actually talked yesterday, for a while, with the worship leaders about relations with the whites. They honestly have a better understanding of their differences here than we do in America. It's hard to explain. Apartheid was pretty messed up and it wasn't that long ago. There is a lot of healing to do.

We were talking today about tragedy. People always say they are surprised at the strength of others who endure it. Like we all think that if it were us we'd just implode or something. I don't think that's true. I think the human spirit is just such that it finds a way to carry on. I mean, what else can it do? I won't say that these orphans and their caregivers are strong, though I'm sure many of them are. I'll just say that they're people.

The orphans come after school. They get a good meal, cooked buy ladies like Prudence who, by the way, has a killer voice. They have activities and crafts and learn their maths and english. I say forget all that. Get the soccer ball!

The kids are really fun and amazingly kind, and I don't honestly care for kids who aren't mine. I had a pretty awesome time playing soccer and giving piggy back rides. My wife would have thought I'd lost my mind.

6PM

We're on our way to Willem's house again.

Andrew Peterson wrote this song called 'World Traveler'. It draws a metaphor of relational growth as a journey. 'Im a world traveler, into these uncharted lands to blaze a trail in the vast expanse of the heart and soul.'

That's what we're doing here; blazing trails, and we can do this anywhere. I had to fly coach for 14 and a half hours to figure that out.

615PM

Roundabouts suck.