Ukukhanya

Yesterday we took 17 students out to the AIDS hospice center we are volunteering at this year. They all loaded up in a rented out taxi and headed to the township of Ntazuma.

In my “American” mindset, I thought we would get there by 10, cut the grass, lay the carpet in a couple rooms, pull some weeds, play with History and Spahy and then be done by 1. Little did I know we would literally be cutting the grass with scissors and sling blades, we would not be laying carpet, we would end up unclogging the kitchen drain that was filled with weeks of old food, and we wouldn’t leave until 6.

I was so blown away by the student’s dedication to making Ukukhanya look well manicured though. It is very difficult for the staff to maintain the premises because they are so understaffed, so any help we can offer them helps. When we got there, the grass was literally 3 feet high and covered with trash, the weeds in the garden were taking over the lettuce, and there was dinner that needed to be cooked. Everyone was assigned a job and by the end of the day the place looked amazing. As we were leaving, one of the nurses said, “I’ve always been so embarrassed to be dropped off at work, but now I will be proud when I get here.”

I learned so much by observing the compassion the students showed yesterday. I loved seeing how motivated they were to help.

I’m slowly realizing my “American” mindset doesn’t work here and I love it. I pray that the Lord will continue to change the way I view things. I truly want to be apart of this culture and therefore I must embrace the fact that things take 10 times longer to do, sometimes the power and/or water doesn’t work, and it’s almost impossible to order a pizza over the phone.