Little Angels on Earth

June 22, 2013

Well, I finally feel like my mission has begun. This week has given me purpose, fulfillment, joy and laughter. It has truly shown me what it means to serve the least of God’s people. This has been the most rewarding week of my life. This week, my home here in SA has become a temporary home for 3 angels. We have been calling them angels on earth.

Sandile is our 7 year old boy and Bongile and Sebongile are 2 year old twin girls. On Tuesday while at preschool, Bongile begun having terrible bladder problems (I wrote of if in my previous blog). We phoned her parents but got no response and we even went to her home to find her parents. They were nowhere to be found. Later that day, the parents showed up to preschool drunk. The mom was so drunk that she passed out on the ground in front of the school. We knew they weren’t going to take Bongile to the clinic to get checked out so we called the social worker to get involved. The next day the social worker visited the family’s shack to find the parents inside, drunk, and the little boy wondering outside. He had just come back from walking Bongile and Sebongile to school. He didn’t go to school, though. He was filthy dirty and had a terrible cough (come to find out he has TB). The condition of the shack we unbearable the social worker said. She said the smell was so bad that she couldn’t walk inside. She spoke with Sandile a bit and he shared some disturbing details about their lives. The most disturbing thing, she told us, was when he explained that the twins had to eat out of the same food bowl as their rabid dog. She took Sandile with her and told the parents that the children would not be coming home again.

My roommates and I were asked to take these children in for the night. The night turned into a week. They are having trouble finding a foster home. They will never be given back to their parents, ever.

These children had not been bathed in weeks. Sandile took his first shower and the girls took their first bath with us this week. When they eat, they eat every bite plus 2 and 3 more helpings of food. They slept on a mattress in our spare bedroom, for the first time in their lives with blankets and socks on their feet. The scares on their bodies say a lot. They began laughing and showing emotion about 3 days in. Now, they can’t stop laughing and talking and playing and smiling.

It’s hard to put into words how incredible it has been taking care of these angels. They have taught us what it means to be thankful for the countless blessings in our own lives. They have taught us how fortunate we are, where we come from. It has never been so easy to love complete strangers. They have been treated like animals for their short lives. And now, hopefully, they will be placed in a home where they can eat at a table, sleep on a mattress, take warm baths and have clothes on their bodies during the winter.

Tomorrow our little family, all 7 of us, are going to 9:30 mass together. I am looking forward to spending another day with these little angels on earth.

Count Your Blessings

June 18, 2013

Count Your Blessings…and then, keep counting and counting…

 

As much as I want my blog to be inspiring and motivating, I also want it to be real and honest. I think I have balanced it well so far. However, the longer I am here, the more that I see and experience and today I have to be real and honest. It’s probably on the opposite end of inspiring and motivating. Sharing on this blog has become therapy for me and today I need some SERIOUS therapy…

Today was by far the hardest day here. It’s like my heart was broken and then broken again, into little tiny pieces…

 A little 2 year old girl in my preschool class lost all control of her bladder today. She went through 4 or 5 pairs of pants until we didn’t have anything else to give her. Everytime she stood up, it came running down.  So we wrapped a towel around her for the rest of the day. We phoned her parents to come and take her to the clinic. When they came about 5 hours later, the father was high and the mother had passed out on the ground. She was so drunk that she couldn’t stand up. Sister Giovanna and the other teachers think that the little’s girls bladder problem because of some form of infection. The social worker knows her family’s history and shared with me the filthy living conditions at her home (shack).  They also suspect that she has been raped. The heartbreaking part about it is that raping 2 and 3 year olds is a common thing. Often enough the teenage boys (13 and 14) are the ones doing the molesting. It sickening. I went into the office and cried after the stories that the social worker told me about these preschool children.

Then later on in the day, I find out that a boy in 6^th grade was hit and killed by a truck on the highway this weekend while he was begging for food. My heart broke again. I spent all day this past Friday with the 6^th grade class subbing for their teacher who was out for the day. I sat with this boy in a reading group and listened to him read and watched him smile as I told him what a wonderful reader he was. Now, he is no longer with us. I thought that the reaction would be just as traumatic for the other children and teachers as it was for me but that was not the case. The teacher was obviously upset but it was her response that was so shocking to me. She said, “This one really hurt.” This one?! Yes, students not returning for school the next day because they are killed is not an uncommon thing. I could tell this because the other children, his classmates, went about their day as normal. I am sure his close friends and classmates were sad; I don’t doubt that, the atmosphere just didn’t seem changed. It was just like another day for them; just another part of their life: death.

I was given the details about the boy’s death but they are too depressing to share. Let’s just say he wasn’t begging close to home and that he wasn’t alone. It involved drugs, drug dealers, satanic devil worshiping groups, sleeping under bridges and then add the begging for food part. All of those elements were part of the 6^th grade boys last night on earth.

All of the terrible things that I could have ever imagined are nowhere near what actually goes on in the lives of these children. I thought at first that I was just being judgmental about what I have witnessed these past 18 days. However, it’s not a judgment. It is the absolute truth. And I don’t judge these people by their actions and lifestyle. I am simply witnessing a reality and trying my best to share love, a smile and a helping hand to everyone I meet and those willing to except it.

After sharing all of my thoughts and reflecting on my day, I always find myself thinking about all of the countless blessing in my life. I have SO MUCH to be thankful for. Whatever my problems were at home seem to be absolutely nothing in comparison to the problems here. Thank you, God.

A Day in the Life of SISTA!

June 13, 2013

I cannot believe that I have already been here for 13 days. The other volunteers told me that time would fly by but I didn’t think it would fly this fast. Many people back at home have been asking me what I am doing each day. At first, I was just bouncing around from the primary school (Don Bosco Center) to the preschool (the Cresh). Those schools are but a mile and half from each other yet they are in two different towns. The Cresh is in Finetown. Finetown is where the biggest squatter neighborhood is. So the name “fine” town is very ironic to me because the town is FAR from fine. But it’s fine to those who live there; I guess that’s all that matters. I have actually grown quite fond of it. Finetown is where the park is where we go and have Oratory every Friday afternoon and Finetown is also home to most of the beautiful preschoolers at the Cresh.

After a week of bouncing around and getting adjusted to the area and the schools, Sister Giovanna asked me to spend a few weeks at the Cresh. I had previously spoken to her about my background in early childhood education and how my heart is with the younger children. Sister Theresa at the Don Bosco Center agreed that I could spend a few weeks at Cresh and then start teaching grade 7 English in July, after the winter break. My time at the Cresh has been eye-opening (as many of my experiences here have been). I started last week with just observing and sitting in the classes and interacting with the children. Interacting can be difficult because I don’t speak their language and we don’t understand each other, verbally. However, there’s a universal language that children have. They communicate with facial expressions, motions, and most importantly physical touch. Or maybe I’ve just spent way too much time with kids in the past 5 years that I’ve mastered some form of child sign language or mind reading, I don’t know. Either way, I can be with them and speak a different language yet still be able to interact and communicate.

After a few days of observing, Sister Giovanna, who runs the Cresh, asked me to have a workshop with the teachers and to share with them some of my observations and ideas on ways to improve or strengthen the children’s development at their center. This past Tuesday I held the workshop with 8 wonderful, patient, loving and dedicated teachers. We discussed the importance of following the daily schedule as closely as possible in order to create a routine for the children. Routine leads to structure. Most of those children come from a chaotic home life. Structure is vital for their development and success. We also discussed how valuable the 30 minute “indoor time” is. Indoor time is their core learning time inside the classroom. We shared ways to be more efficient with that time in order to get the most out of it. We spoke about their language development and interactions with the teachers and about effective ways to handle bathroom procedures. All of the teachers were open to me and welcomed my ideas. I wanted to come across as an equal. I wanted them to know that I valued the way they do things and that my ideas are not better, just simply different. Sister G saw our success during workshop and asked me to hold a monthly workshop from now on in order to continue our growth together. Since Tuesday’s workshop, I go to the Cresh each day and co-teach with the 3 and 4 year old classroom teachers. We work together to manage the classroom and work on implementing some of the things we discussed during the workshop. I plan to bring them a sweet treat at the end of next week to thank them for allowing me in their classrooms and being open to my presence and ideas.

Around 11:30 each day, when the children finish their lunches, I ride with another volunteer to the bread factory 15 minutes away. There we take the left over loaves of bread from the delivery trucks and we stack as many as we can in the back of our truck. Then we take them back to the schools. The Cresh gets 12 loaves that will be a part of their lunch the next day and Don Bosco Center gets the rest. When the kids at Don Bosco leave to go home each day, they get to take a loaf of bread home with them. For many, it’s their family’s dinner. We do whatever we can to make sure the children are getting fed.

After work all of the volunteers and I head home. It’s usually around 3:30 or 4. Since its winter here, the early mornings are very cold. But in the afternoons, around the time we get off work, the sun is shining brightly and the temperature is warm and beautiful. We go home and sit in our driveway and enjoy the sun (but not too much because apparently too much sun in the winter in SA can cause the flu??) and each other’s company. Then we either head to the sister’s house for dinner and Wi-Fi, or we cook a big meal at our house. Once it’s dark though, we are locked in and winding down. Tonight Amanda and I cooked a meal and then we watched a movie and drank wine. I am enjoying my time here. Different journeys have brought us too this place but we are all making the best out of it. We spend our days with the children at the schools and we spend our nights sharing, laughing, eating and enjoying our time together.  It’s a simple yet fulfilling life. I highly recommend it J

Today is the most wonderful day so far because I got news that one of my best friends, Alissa Mansfield, had her baby today. Emmeline Grace was born healthy and beautiful. I can’t wait until I get to meet her in January! – and hopefully on FaceTime or Skype sometime soon.

Congrats Alissa and Brett! I love you both.

 

 



Home Away from Home

June 9, 2013

One week down and many more to go! I think I have gotten over the initial shock of when I am living and the conditions. Now, I can write about all of the positive and wonderful experiences I am having here because there are many and they definitely outweigh the negatives that I spoke about in earlier posts.

Today we went to a local church and attended Mass. There are at least three local Catholic Churches around my town and close by. People here love their religion and they love their Lord. The church was a little brick building. They bring in the pews and kneelers every Sunday for mass. Every other day the church is like an empty space. But when it is filled with pews and kneelers and people and children and priest the little brick church comes alive to be the most spectacular mass I have ever been to. The priest, who is a Salesian and who works with me at my school and youth group, said mass in their African language called Zulu. Everyone sang and responded in Zulu. The COOLEST part was that I could follow along without skipping a beat! I knew what prayers and responses were being said and what songs were being sung and I could receive communion. To be a complete outsider, 9000 miles away from my own church and speaking a totally different language, I have never felt more a part of the mass before. The mass took 2 hours because of their songs. It was the most beautiful soul/gospel music I have ever heard. I could sing along with them in English. Then they would start dancing in the isles and waving their hands in the air. It was awesome! The children sat together in the front 2 rows and followed along, sang and danced with everyone. They didn’t need a “cry room” or to be taken out for being distracting. Mass and church is a special and important place to them and they were just as a part of it as the rest of the congregation.

 UNIVERSAL: My new favorite part of being part of the Catholic Church. There are so many things that I love about it, but being here in Africa and participating in today’s mass, I have a great appreciation for the beautiful thing that is the Catholic Church’s universality. It is what sets us apart from so many others…no matter where you go in the world; the mass is always the same. You go into Mass and instantly become one with everyone there. It’s like home (and here come the tears). You feel safe knowing that you are just as close to God and your church and your beliefs as you were back at home, half way around the world. 

After mass we have Sunday lunch at the sister’s house. It is our one hot meal of the day (like every other day, we usually get one hot meal a day, at their house). The new volunteers from Ireland finally arrived and joined us for lunch. They two girls are living with us and the boy is living with the Salesian priests and brothers in their house down the road. Now, its 6 girls living in our house representing 4 different countries. We can all speak English but with different accents. It’s really fascinating speaking with them and learning about where they come from and their cultures and life at home.

After we had taken long afternoon naps (which is vital for me because I have not gotten used to the time difference yet so I’m wide awake most nights) my roommate Chrissy and I sat at our kitchen table and had a great convo. I learned from this convo exactly how different I am from these other girls, besides the fact that we are from different countries. I am speaking more about our life journeys and what brought us to South Africa. I am the only one out of the 6 of us, who never dreamed of visiting, much less living, in Africa. Like I had mentioned in my very first post back in April (see April post if you haven’t read it), Africa chose me. I did not choose Africa. The other girls here and mostly Chrissy, have dreamed about visiting, seeing or living in Africa. Chrissy majors in international social work because she wants to be a social worker in Africa someday. She spent a semester in Ghana living and working with the people there. She has a love and deep fascination for all things African. It’s very inspiring how passionate she is about her work an about Africa. I, on the other hand, had no initial interest of visiting, seeing or living in Africa. Chrissy and I were discussing those differences we had and I started to feel bad for not having the deep desire to come here. So I began to doubt myself for a minute. Am I in the right place? Should I have gone somewhere that I really desired and hoped to be living or visiting? Am I just being overly ambitious or being cliché for coming to serve in a poor town in South Africa? Isn’t it too soon to be doubting things? I still have 7 months to go!! All I can do really to keep my own peace about my presence here is to keep reassuring myself (and thanks to the help from all of my supportive family and friends) that this is where God placed me and I am simply answering His call to serve here. It was never in my plan or my dreams and that’s ok. If anything it was part of God’s plan to take me out of my life in the States where I planned and micromanaged every aspect of my life. I think He is trying to show me how wonderful a life can be when you let go of control and simply just live and enagage in the moment you are in and appreiciate the NOW, instead of worrying about the future.

I am not any less than the other volunteers here. It just makes my circumstances and journey a little different. Right?

When I leave here, though, I hope to travel to a few places where I would like to visit while I’m out of the States. Sr. Giovanna who is a Salesain sister, who I work with, is from Italy and tells me about how wonderful it is and that Noto and Sicily are spectacular places to visit. The Salesian sisters have a community there where I could stay and work while visiting. Only time will tell what I will be doing, though. I just continue to pray for guidance and peace. I know that God will lead me on the path I am supposed to be on whether that is more traveling and volunteering or a life teaching in the States OR anything else?!!!  I just know I’m in the right place at the right time and it feels good (minus the cold weather and the lack of heat in any building in my town, that doesn’t feel too good!).

I came across a beautiful quote the other day and it relates to my life here in SA and my April blog post about my “journey to get to this journey”. I read this at night. Its comforting.

“Your journey has molded you for your greater good, and it’s exactly what you needed it to be. Don’t think that you have lost time. It took each and every situation you have encountered to bring you to the now. And the now is right on time” –Asha Tyson

Run for the Hills?

June 7, 2013

I haven’t cried yet but I know it’s going to come bursting out soon. Culture shock is an understatement. I have seen more then I could’ve every imagined in this past week. These children are the most wonderful children that I have ever met in my life. Yet they come from the most unbearable, unimaginable home lives. They live in South Africa’s poorest communities. These children walk miles and miles to school each day not because they have to (and trust me some of their parents or care givers could care less if they went to school or not) but because they want to. Their school is like a haven; an oasis for them to come to to get away from the hell on earth that could be some of their home lives. They live in one room shacks without electricity or plumbing or water and they sleep on the ground without blankets. School is where they can come to eat and be loved. Most of the older children wake themselves up in the morning, wake their siblings, dress their siblings and walk to school in fear of being kidnapped, raped or picked up by a human trafficking system (that one is extremity but never out of the question) on the way to school. Some ride a train to school each day, alone.  Man y of the children are orphans. They leave school each day and go straight to SOS. SOS is the homeless shelter a few miles from our school. these children have no families and are looked after by caregivers. They fend for themselves each and every day. I make sure to hug each one as they walk out of the gate each day as they begin their trek home.

Today was the most surreal day so far. Instead of spending my late Friday afternoon enjoying happy hour drinks with friends on the patio of some fancy bar, I spent it playing football (soccer) with the children at the local park, in the middle of the largest slum neighborhood in town. The view from the park was shacks and beggars and homeless children roaming the streets. This time is called Oratory. According to St. John Bosco, children should be met where they are. So along with education, we must allow them free time to play and be children. After a few hours, we gather where we are in the park and tell a story and pray before we head home. Lastly, instead of spending my Friday night out with friends at the coolest bars in town, I was visiting my new church’s youth group. They meet every Friday night for a few hours. Those young adults blew me away with their intelligence and wonderful personalities. They have a love for the Lord that is contagious and inspiring. I plan to make that my new Friday activity. It sure is a vast contrast to my usual Friday night.

The people, young adults and children of South Africa are far beyond anything I would’ve expected. I have found a new love in Africa. South Africa is my new home and I will make the absolute best of it for the next 7 months. But I can expect there will be many tears along the way. I miss my family and friends and often I doubt why I am here. This place (areas surrounding Ennerdale) makes you want to run for the hills. But the children here and many of the other lovely men and women, can keep you sucked in. I hope the good Lord watches over me, takes care of me and let’s love and courage continuously flow from within me so I can make a small difference in the lives of these amazing people of South Africa.

Living Simply, or Simply Living?

June 6, 2013

Ennerdale and its surrounding towns are flat, bare and dirty. You can see for miles of brown dirt and a few patches of green trees. There are no shops, malls, bookstores, café’s, restaurants, parks, etc. There are only gas stations where we get our “petro” and a grocery store called “Shoprite.” It is far worse than I could’ve ever expected. It is far from the glamorous Johannesburg that everyone talks about. We don’t go into the city of Joburg. It is a 25 minute drive and we have no reason to go there because we have to be locked in our house by 6-7 each night. We can’t be out after dark. Our house has guard dogs that bark ALL night long. Nights are the scariest. It is most danergouse at night. I know I am safe because of the dogs and every door and window has bars on it. BUT I still do not feel safe when I can hear the people outside yelling, the cars screeching by and the dogs barking from all over. This is going to be a long 7 months. I am getting involved with the youth at the Salesian church up the road from my house. They meet every Friday night. Then I will sleep in and relax on the weekends. My roommates like to drink wine so we designated Saturday nights as our wine nights. On Sundays we go to Mass and have a big meal with the Salesians. I feel that if I keep a routine (which we all know that I love) time will pass.

It is most difficult though not having TV or internet access at my house. When we come home each week night, I have found other ways to stay occupied before I go to bed. At home I was used to running errands after school, meeting friends for drinks, having dinners out, using the internet for anything I pleased before I went to bed and TV if I felt like it. Now, I have all the time to myself to read my new books, write in my journal, write my blogs, and spend time sitting around our kitchen table chatting with my roommates about their life and cultures in Czech Republic and Canada. It’s not bad; it’s just different that I have been used to. I would go and come as I please; now I am not free to do anything I choose.

EXECPT on free weekends we can travel! The school has a summer break in 2 weeks. Chrissy, my Canadian roomie, has time off of her social work and we may use that week to travel to Cape Town or CouagerTown. I feel like if I don’t see some of the beauty and sites of South Africa, I may start to despise it because where I live is the worst place I’ve ever been or lived. The only thing that makes this town worthwhile is the children. The children are wonderful. They are smart and happy and smiling and laughing and loving all the time. It makes me wonder how children from that type environment can be so happy. It really makes me appreciate my home and where I leave in the States. If the children from the poorest homes in Africa can love their life each and every day, then I should too.

Live to Learn

June 4, 2013

 

I started my journey to South Africa early Saturday morning with an 8am flight to Detroit. From there I went to Atlanta and on to Joburg. To flight to Joburg was 15 hours. They 2 ladies behind me said that I slept practically the whole way. It seemed like it to me thanks the person who decided not show up and take the seat next to me. I got to stretch out, enjoy my complementary red wine and slowly drift off to sleep for a while. There was a man from Joburg who was returning home from Atlanta sitting on the far end of my isle. He wanted to chat, and those of you that know me well know that I’m not one for small talk. But with the new experiences ahead and all of the new people I was going to meet and talk to, I knew that I had to be open to conversations. I knew I had to learn to like to chat. He told me about all of the local sights and adventures to go on while in South Africa. He tried to explain what Ennerdale would be like. Ennerdale is the small town, south of Joburg, where I live. But I hate to say that his descriptions were not exactly accurate!

We landed and I headed through customs. The customs officers were large, dark, scary/angry looking men. They hardly made eye contact and definitely didn’t smile. By the way they looked, I was sure they weren’t going to let me in the country! I was extremely nervous to take my turn through. My guy looked at my Visa for what seemed like forever. Then he asked me for my invitation letter and other official papers. He looked closely at those for a minute and then mumbled under his breath (without looking up at me or smiling), for me to “keep up the good work.” That was it. He handed me my paper and passport and I walked off. Hearing the scary customs officer mumble that phrase brought me to tears as I walked off to get my bags. That phrase solidified everything for me. It put to me to ease knowing that I was welcomed and encouraged by the strangers of this new city. It was yet another message sent form God telling me that I am on the right path, doing what I am meant to do, allowing me to again have the PEACE that has sustained me since my decision to become a missionary back in January. I was on top of the world at that moment.

Sr. Margaret (from Ireland) and Sr. Giovanna (from Italy) picked me up and drove me to my house where I was greeted by the 3 other volunteers working in my community. Two of the girls are from the Czech Republic and the other from Canada. They are around my age and have been volunteering here for almost a year. They are ready to go. While I am optimistic and enthusiastic right now, they have guaranteed me that I will be over it, tired, and burned out of it in half a year, which is great because I only plan to stay until January anyway. I don’t think they are too fond of me. They are going home next week and we are getting 3 more volunteers from Ireland for a few months. I hope they will be as excited and enthusiastic as I. We shall see though.

We have a small but quaint 5 bedroom house in the town of Ennerdale. Ennerdale is what locals call the middle class of Joburg. Yet it seems like the ghetto to me. The house has a wall and security gate surrounding it. We have to be at home and inside our house by 6 every night because it’s too dangerous to be out after that time. There are stray dogs roaming the streets, people yelling, cars flying by and lights flashing all hours of the night. It is quite scary. The daytime is better. There are 4 nuns that are in community here who founded and run the school I teach at. They live in a small house about a block from ours. It is nice and has Wi-Fi!

Each day we begin with mass at 6:30 at the local church. From there we head to the school, called the Don Bosco Educational Project. It is a school that was founded and now run those Salesian Sisters 2 years ago. The school is funded by donations and grants from many countries around the world. Sr. Margaret spends most of her time writing letters to different countries asking for donations toward the DBEP.

One side of the school is a primary school for grades 1-7. The students there are the poorest of the poor in Joburg. They don’t come from Ennerdale; they come from the squatter neighborhoods and slums that surround the southern end of Ennerdale. It looks like a massive landfill. The neighborhoods consist of tons of one room shacks made of tin for roofs and blanks and cardboard for walls. There is no electricity, running water or plumbing. They “squat” when they need to use the restroom. The children from these neighborhoods walk miles to our school each day. We provide them with a uniform, hot breakfast and lunch and a classroom education from 8-3 each day. The school follows the curriculum and standards of the South African government. We are recognized as a private school under the SA government but not yet subsidized. Soon though!!

The other side of the school is a skills school for college-age young adults from the community. They didn’t go to college so our school teaches them skills like carpentry, sewing, plumbing, wood working and electrical work. They plan to use their skills to make money to provide for their families. They love to share what they know and they have pride in their work. It is awesome to see.

The Cresh is the Kindergarten center a few blocks away from the DBEP. The children there are ages 3-5. The go from the Cresh to the DBEP. The children at the Cresh are wonderful. Anyone white who comes, they automatically call “Sister!” because for the longest time the only white people they knew was the nuns! So I am sister to them. All they want to do it hug you and smile and wave and touch your skin. Just by the way the children act, so happy, energetic, full of life, you would never know that they are South Africa’s poorest children. More poor then I could have ever imagined. I can’t wait to spend every day with them. In a few weeks is the winter holidays and I will get to spend some time at the Cresh. Until then, I’ll be teaching 7^th grade at the DBEP.

I was less than thrilled to be asked to teach 7^th grade. Not only am I not qualified to teach middle school subjects, I have never seen their curriculum and do not have the supplies to meet their needs. Yet, I know all of that doesn’t matter. They already have full-time teachers in all of the other grades. The headmistress, Sr. Teresa, is teaching in 7^th grade right now until a replacement comes. That would be me. So as missionaries do, we serve where we are needed. I am needed in 7^th grade and I will most definitely take on the challenge. I should’ve known better then to think that I would just ease into my comfort zone (gradesk-3). I knew I was going to be challenged in MANY ways. This is the first and most obvious. I told the sisters to bring it on!! I would do my best and ask questions along the way.

So for the next 7 months I plan to LIVE TO LEARN. Each day living here will be a brand new learning experience for me. I will learn a new continent, a new country, a new culture, a new lifestyle and a new area of education. Along with that come new understandings, a deeper sense of patience and diligence and a life of simplicity. I will live each day to learn as much as I can in order to be humbled and gracious for the things that I have and for the life I lead.

It’s only been 3 days.

Pics are hard to download because the internet is very slow here. I will post as I can.