Battlefields Tour

This past weekend was busy! On friday we went to staff training with the Mpophomeni and Ethembeni staff which was such a blessing. Both of the staffs are filled with women that have experienced so much but are so full of the joy of the Lord. The women that work at both of the centers are residents of Mpophomeni and are affected by the same problems impacting the community- alcoholism, poverty, a general lack of education- but these women have given their lives and time to the Lord and it was a really uplifting time of praise, worship, and learning for all of us.
Saturday and Sunday we spent off campus touring the battlefields of KwaZulu-Natal. The Anglo-Zulu war and the Battle of Blood River were both fought only about 4 hours away from us. We went to the site of the Battle of Blood River on Saturday and spent the night in a charming hotel and ate some wonderful food and had a great question and answer time with Reg.
On Sunday we visited the site of the Battle of Isandlwana where the British were defeated by the Zulu army. It was Britain's largest colonial defeat and had a huge impact on world politics. This excursion was part of our History and Culture course so our guide delivered a lecture at the battle site and when he was done speaking we sat in silence and listened to the worship songs rising from the churches in the valley which was a beautiful way to end the trip.
This week we've been tackling projects at the family center. I sewed a beanbag today and we have so much fabric that I'm pretty sure it's all I will do for the rest of the trip, but I'm getting really good at hand sewing, so that's a plus. We've also been working pretty furiously on a mural based on the creation story in the Early Childhood Development room which is looking really great considering we have no art majors on our team. Please be praying we would be able to use the rest of the time at the center well (only 6 days!) and for the continuing of the Lord's work in Mpophomeni!