Team 25 Day 4

Day #4 was one of the biggest days yet!
Started it off with homemade pancakes and some fresh fruit to begin the morning. Hillie led us in devotions, speaking on Mark 4:35-41. She highlighted the importance of putting all our faith in God as He is in control of everything. This was such a perfect way to begin the day. 

We walked to the village at around 9:30am and met Emma, one the builders. He explained to us our task for the day which consisted of making our own mud for rendering. The mud was made up of lime, soil, cow poo, molasses and water. The young adults volunteered themselves to be in charge of collecting the cow manure from the cattle yard whilst the others prepared themselves with the brushes, gloves and shovels. We took turns hoeing the dirt and shovelling in the wheelbarrows, followed by mixing all the ingredients together. Soon enough, after adding the lime, molasses and water, we were finally able to start rendering! The small village houses were starting to deteriorate as the wet season came to an end. We spent the rest of the day making sure we did the best job we could! Hillie and Liesje, the two eldest of the group and no doubt the strongest (sorry Josh) use every bit of energy to mix up the mud whilst we all rendered. Shae and Josh soon left with Emma to fix the chicken coop which was falling apart. Shae learnt how to perfectly use a hammer while Josh was completely in his element.  

Time went by fast as we eventually left to wash up before lunch. We were all covered in the mud, especially Piper, with some on our faces and plenty on our hands and clothes! Lunch was much needed after a morning of hard work and physically exercise but the day wasn’t over yet. 

We left Suubi House around 1:30 to head to the slum. A few of us were admittedly hesitant and scared of what we were about to see and experience. We arrived and were immediately swarmed by the young children in which flooded the slum. We met Lucy, the community service worker which introduced herself and the place as she then split us into three groups. We each followed a local around the slum preparing ourselves for the stories that we would hear. As we walked around, surrounded by the children and dodging copious amounts of rubbish, we were devasted by the state of the living conditions. We listened to the mothers talk about their children, some with more than 9, sleeping in a tiny shack with not even a bed to sleep on. Others cried as they shared their stories of deaths in their family, their disloyal husbands and the pain of their circumstance. The appreciation of each family softened our hearts as we prayed for them and gave them soap and sugar. 

After the overwhelming experience, we shared our thoughts and feelings about the slum, highlighting how very lucky we are to have what we have. We realise that geography is the only difference we have to these people and so we shall continuously and generously pray for them with a sincere heart. Today was a life-changing experience for the team and we cannot wait for what tomorrow will bring. J