South Africa

All posts tagged South Africa

Did I Raise Her Too Well?

Published May 21, 2014 by Angela

I was thrilled to hear from my oldest today, who is in South Africa until the middle of June. It seems that she is starting to feel guilty about being there helping one little girl, when she feels like she should be here, helping her three little sisters.

I let her know she has done more than enough for her sisters, and they are my responsibility to be sure all their needs are taken care of and everything is going well with them. I also let her know that she is changing the life of this little girl, likely in many ways she may never even realize. My children have a solid support system, this girl may not.

I hope she stops feeling blue and absorbs and enjoys every single minute with this little girl, her classmates and their students, and this whole once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

As I tell her all the time:
“You make my heart smile. Every single day.”

Helping In South Africa

Published May 16, 2014 by Angela

Helping In South Africa

Beyond proud of my oldest for giving her time, for nearly 6 weeks, to take a trip to South Africa with some classmates to help out those in need. I’m sure she got right to it after playing with this adorable lion cub! Words cannot express how much I miss her right now…

Hanging On and Letting Go

Published May 8, 2014 by Angela

It is a difficult thing to process when you have conflicting feelings trying to overwhelm your senses. Being very excited for my oldest daughter to be going to South Africa to do mission work makes me very proud. And the immediate panic I experienced as I hugged her for the last time for 6 weeks and told her I was proud of her; it took my breath away. It literally felt like my heart was going to pound out of my chest while I was driving to work. We have went 6 weeks without seeing each other before, but I also knew she was less than an hour away, and always a text message away. Now I will be relying on the group’s blog postings to keep me up to date on how my daughter is doing.

Am I concerned for her safety? Of course. I am concerned for her safety when she is on her college campus where she is going to start her 4th and final year in the fall. I am always concerned; the location does not matter.

As the newness of this situation wears off, and I get settled in to the idea of keeping tabs on my daughter via the internet, she will be on her way back and I know it will feel like she never left.

I really am excited for this amazing opportunity she has. I could never even begin to explain how proud of her I am, to her or anyone else. She takes opportunities as they present themselves, even if it is new or frightening. She creates opportunities for herself to grow as a young woman in a fast-paced-always-changing world.

She will change lives, and her and I both know that she can change the world, even if it is one person at a time.