This week was so incredible but really sad at the same time.  We had to say goodbye to Francina, Alice and all of our street kids. On Tuesday, we threw a party for the kids and they had so much fun. We had cookies, chocolate, bubbles, balloons, coke, and coloring. We wanted to share the story of Jesus with them so we had Francina translate. When we were done saying our part, Francina started asking each child if they understood that we were talking about Jesus. She just came alive and was so passionate about sharing Jesus with these kids. She started singing and dancing about how there is no one like Jesus and how powerful He is. It was at that moment that I understood. Why did we pour all of our time into one woman for over 3 weeks every day? Why did we spend the rest of our time just playing with these children? Because God's plan is perfect and He knows what He is doing.  The Lord just showed me that His plan was for Francina to continue to share Jesus with these children after we are gone.  I was asking WHY and God was asking me to wait and see. It was so incredible for us to be able to see a small part of His plan for Atteridgeville.

Wednesday was our last day to visit with Francina so we spent the entire day with her. It was so sad to hear her tell us stories about all of the children and their families. Most of them come from abusive homes with angry fathers and hurting mothers that have no hope. Francina's heart is clearly burdened for the families around her and I know God is going to use her as a light in Atteridgeville.

Halloween was so fun! We had a huge party in the barn and we all dressed up. There were games, tons of food, a dance contest, a costume contest, fireworks, and finally praise and worship. I was horrified to hear of the human and sexual sacrifices that were happening all around us on Halloween. It was a time for us to celebrate LIGHT and pray for the Lord to shine His glory in dark places.

Saying goodbye to all of the kids on Thursday was so hard. It breaks my heart beyond words to know where they are going at night, and what they have to face, see, and hear everyday. I know that God will protect them physically and emotionally and I'm asking that He will heal their sweet little hearts.

Our teams for January were announced this morning and I'm officially going to Swaziland!!! Our team leaves this coming Wednesday and we will be there for 2 weeks. We will be learning about the internship opportunities to get an idea for what we will want to do when we come back in January. There will be a team going to Kenya in January and they will be staying in South Africa while we are in Swazi. I'm so excited to be back in Swaziland and will write when I'm there!