The Joy of Giving

After a very rushed 2 weeks of buying, sorting, stuffing and wrapping, today was finally the big day we had worked so hard for! We were lucky to be able to have 3 of the Allteck trucks and 8 of their lineman help us load and take the 50 pizzas, 350 cookies, 2 large cakes, 176 juice boxes, 65 baby dolls, 57 bags of marbles, cars and tops, 17 make-up bags, 17 lego sets and books, 8 backpacks and 175 lunch boxes filled with necessities, plus a Christmas tree and Father Christmas (thanks Mike!). When we arrived at the school we were able to set up and decorate as Veronica lined the kids up and explained to them how to behave! I am so amazed at the power that this one woman has over that many children. She can get them all to be quiet with just one word. They listen and do exactly as she says, it's incredible to watch! It was so fun to see their faces as they quietly and appropriately filed into the hall! Then they sat and waited, with their pizza in front of them, until every child was seated and Veronica gave them directions! Before they started eating she asked them to sing us a song to say thank you. That has to be one of the loveliest sounds I have ever heard. We all stood there smiling from ear to ear, listening to these sweet and gracious children sing to us, "I love you with the love of the Lord"!

Waiting soooo patiently!

Lisa

Thanks Allteck for letting us borrow your guys!

Courtney and Dawn

After what must have seemed like forever to these children, they were finally allowed to eat! Some of the children seemed to swallow their pizza whole and others took their sweet time enjoying every bite! Thanks to a local bakery and grocery store they each received a piece of cake and 2 cookies after they finished their pizza! Then just as efficiently as they had entered the hall to eat, they lined up to receive their gifts. Because they all have short hair it is difficult to tell who is a boy and who is a girl! Fortunately, Veronica had them line up by class and gender! While I could tell they were bursting with excitement they were so well behaved and calm! I can't believe they were able to wait so patiently. All of us girls were dying for them to just rip open their presents, yet they just stood their waiting until they were given permission!  A few of them peeked into their bags as they stood in line and we could hear the whispers of "I think it's a teddy bear", "no, it's a doll"! Once they were back in their classrooms they were allowed to open their gifts. Oh, the joy! They were all thrilled with what they received. The look of surprise and gratitude on their precious faces was overwhelming! It took a lot to remain composed but while I didn't cry, I did scream and jump up and down with them! The little girls were so sweet with their babies. It was so fun to watch them look at their faces and touch their little feet and rock them! I think the older students were more excited with their magazines then anything else! When I asked the students if they liked their presents, they all responded with "Yes, teacha, yes! Thank you, teacha!" (I love the way they say teacher)!

Now this is JOY!

After we finished giving all of the children their presents we gave the teachers/staff their cards. Before we left a few of them came up to us and the surprise and gratitude on their faces was even more priceless then the children's! It was a wonderful day, probably one of the highlights of my life! We could not have done it without everyone's help and I am so thankful I had this opportunity. More importantly I am so glad Aiden and Anna had this opportunity! It was so good for them to see how happy these children are with the little that they have. Anna was a bit shy around the kids, but Aiden jumped right in there like he was one of them! It was funny to watch all the students just stare at my fair skinned, blond children! They were intrigued by the kids and Trent. They all came up and asked me, "is that your husband, teacha?"! After the party was over Aiden and Anna were able to run around with the kids and play for a bit. I loved seeing them interact with the kids, especially the little ones who all wanted to give Anna a "shop shop" which is when you press your thumb to theirs and say "shop, shop" (it's actually sharp sharp, and is used as a greeting, farewell or just for enthusiasm, but with their accent it sounds like "shop, shop").

Mandy

My Christmas is complete!  I wish everyone who helped make this day possible could come to South Africa to receive the love and hugs that we received today! I will have to be a proxy for the children and give everyone a huge hug when I come home for Christmas! These kids have given me so much more than I will ever be able to give them! I am still trying to figure out how to bring them all home with me. Since that is not possible I may just have to stay here with them forever!