The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few...
6.25.2005
Day 22 ABC
On our long trip to the orphanage, we came to the northern part of Swaziland where Gum trees and Pine trees are grown. Swaziland is has the largest and highest quality manmade forests in the world. They are beautiful as they decorate the mountains. As we drove into Piggs Peak it felt like we were driving into a small cottage town in northern America. There were tall, beautiful trees and cute little stores. I guess it's been almost a month since I've been in America though, but it reminded me of little towns near Traverse City, Michigan.
Along some of the windy roads that go up and over and down and around the mountains, there were various booths where there were kids that were wearing leaves around their chest, arms, waist, and ankles. They were kicking their feet high (traditional dance), trying to get tourists' attention. These kids are slaves. E&D said that they used to stop and give the kids food, but soon they realized that the man that "owns" them would take any food or money that they collect. So they stopped stopping to give food. It's a sad situation because those kids aren't healthy at all.
On the road from Piggs Peak to Bulembu, we stopped on a mountain to eat lunch. So we had a picnic on a mountain. When we drove up a mountain and then down into Bulembu, we found that it was very tropical.
We visited some of the orphan kids. Jerry and Robyn Richter have 24 kids in their house right now that they are taking care of. One baby who's name is Jethro was very sweet and pleasant. He is maybe 5 months and his mom died of AIDs. Another baby named Joy was abandoned as well and she's a little chub. This little boy named George is about 1.5 years and he likes to be held. Many of the babies there like to be held. Once you put them down they cry and freak out because they think you are going to "abandon" them. They're so cute though that you don't want to put them down. I held George for a long time and then he fell asleep on my lap.
Hannah, a MK from Washington State, plays with the older orphans, she and they led us to a waterfall. It was at least a mile back in the bush. As we walked along the rugged dirt road we had tall gum trees towering over our heads, reaching up to the sky. Finally when we got to the waterfall we took pictures and hung out for a while with the kids. They like to go there but Jerry and Robyn won't let them go without an adult. Anyway, it was fun. The hike back was up and up and up and we were quite tired once we got back to the Abandoned Babies Center (ABC)
Jerry took us to the guest house to stay for the night. It was HUGE. There were three bedrooms, two bathrooms, two living rooms, two kitchens, a pantry and a front sun room. Jerry started the fireplace for us and we all sat in there and ate. Once we were done and headed back to our rooms, we realized that we were going to freeze if we slept in our rooms because it was on the other side of the house. SO. We took the mattresses from our rooms and slid them down the long hallway to the living room with the fireplace. We stayed cozy warm all night.
Along some of the windy roads that go up and over and down and around the mountains, there were various booths where there were kids that were wearing leaves around their chest, arms, waist, and ankles. They were kicking their feet high (traditional dance), trying to get tourists' attention. These kids are slaves. E&D said that they used to stop and give the kids food, but soon they realized that the man that "owns" them would take any food or money that they collect. So they stopped stopping to give food. It's a sad situation because those kids aren't healthy at all.
On the road from Piggs Peak to Bulembu, we stopped on a mountain to eat lunch. So we had a picnic on a mountain. When we drove up a mountain and then down into Bulembu, we found that it was very tropical.
We visited some of the orphan kids. Jerry and Robyn Richter have 24 kids in their house right now that they are taking care of. One baby who's name is Jethro was very sweet and pleasant. He is maybe 5 months and his mom died of AIDs. Another baby named Joy was abandoned as well and she's a little chub. This little boy named George is about 1.5 years and he likes to be held. Many of the babies there like to be held. Once you put them down they cry and freak out because they think you are going to "abandon" them. They're so cute though that you don't want to put them down. I held George for a long time and then he fell asleep on my lap.
Hannah, a MK from Washington State, plays with the older orphans, she and they led us to a waterfall. It was at least a mile back in the bush. As we walked along the rugged dirt road we had tall gum trees towering over our heads, reaching up to the sky. Finally when we got to the waterfall we took pictures and hung out for a while with the kids. They like to go there but Jerry and Robyn won't let them go without an adult. Anyway, it was fun. The hike back was up and up and up and we were quite tired once we got back to the Abandoned Babies Center (ABC)
Jerry took us to the guest house to stay for the night. It was HUGE. There were three bedrooms, two bathrooms, two living rooms, two kitchens, a pantry and a front sun room. Jerry started the fireplace for us and we all sat in there and ate. Once we were done and headed back to our rooms, we realized that we were going to freeze if we slept in our rooms because it was on the other side of the house. SO. We took the mattresses from our rooms and slid them down the long hallway to the living room with the fireplace. We stayed cozy warm all night.
Posted by: Anonymous / 19:52 
