~Great celebrations, big and small~

Wednesday July 21, 2010- Created by Holly

Today started well with an extra hour of sleep- it was blissful. At breakfast, Michelle was surprised by a colorful birthday cake, candles of a sort, and even festive decorations. We all had a piece of cake and it was delicious.

As school was cancelled because of a teacher meeting, several volunteers trooped down the road with Andrew and Cam and went to the community centre. There they did a wonderful job of sweeping up the dust and debris and picking up glass outside. Apparently, word spread about the exciting activities at the Centre because soon groups of eager children and women joined in the cleanup. They did a wonderful job, however, once again, we were troubled by a lack of food to share with so many.

One group of volunteers visited older residents in the community and found their glimpse of life inside the round houses very interesting.

Anya cleaned up the volunteer materials and unearthed some useful materials for the classrooms. Other volunteers spent a lot of time preparing for lessons later in the week. They were interrupted by children who arrived very early and stayed for the afternoon playing Frisbee and even blowing bubbles!

Preschool was still on and the wee ones continued to enjoy dancing to CDS and learning new songs. Today, after Reverend Spiwow’s talk last night, I could feel that we were accomplishing what we came to do by participating in the life of Malungeni. I hope the feeling lasts.

Thought of the Day: (Susan)- “Is there a common language, other than music? Absolutely, there is the language of hospitality, a secular sense of honoring one another. We can meet as strangers, but we can share respect and dignity” – Yo Yo Ma.