To South Africa and Back: September 2011

This will be a short one

If there were ever a time to spew my emotions onto a page, this would be the time. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to write that well.
Wednesdays are burn dressing change days. Today was a difficult Wednesday, they are always difficult, but today was especially difficult. Each Wednesday I give my best effort to be positive and hope that it rubs off on the kids. Today my efforts were useless. I had only 2 or 3 kids that were [noticeably] positively affected. These few did keep my spirits up for the nearly 4 hours I spent in that room. By the end of the changes I sluggishly walked back to the office feeling about 30 lbs heavier. I slouched into the chair and just couldn't move. I did not see any other patients today. I walked home and sorted through some thoughts.

These are the days I remind myself that I do make a difference, even when i don't feel like it.

To say the least, i was feeling rather melancholy for a while. To remedy this, I went climbing. Climbing is my solution all my life's problems. :)

love you all and miss you all

Upon arrival in Cape Town, I had the most optimistic look on my environment. Despite the poverty and political climate, I felt that I would be in a relatively safe area and surrounded by co-workers and housemates. I’ve had no reason to worry or be skeptical of walking to and from the market. Although I heeded warnings of walking by myself and going out at night, I did not let that hinder me from my everyday outings. Yesterday made me re-think all of that.
My housemate and I were walking to a shop on Lower Main, a road just about 1/4 mile away. We usually take the same route whenever going to this street, so it was a walk like normal. Yesterday’s weather was a bit damp and gray, perhaps that should have been a sign to wait, but we wanted to get some air and see a shop. Just down the street and around the corner, we walked half way down the street and were rapidly approached by 2 men. The first man approached my housemate and told her he had a gun, when she did not respond (as we were both confused) he grabbed her shoulders and started pushing her away, when i turned my attention to her another man approached me and pushed me into a fence, so I could not get away. He told me to give him my money (and being the awfully natural instinct) I said no and held my purse tighter. He pushed me again and grabbed the strap of the purse, ripping it off of me. Meanwhile, my housemate had been pushed down the ground and was fighting off the other thief. When they both got they wanted, they showed us their pocket knives, as to deter us from following them. They ran away and we stood there, stunned.
We ran home and banged on the door until another housemate finally let us in. It is a blur, the incident, their faces, everything. The good news is that, we are okay. We both have some minor bruises and she has some scratches from falling. The things we lost are not nearly as important as the feeling of security we lost. We were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Last night and today has been spent going over the story with housemates, police, security teams, and supervisors. My brain has been spinning and, in turn, left my head hurting.
I will not let this become the only story I tell from this trip. It will not hold me back or hold me down. It has taken away a day from me and I know that i will be more fearful the next few times I leave the house. However, God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. With that in mind, I will remember that all your prayers are with me and the love of Jesus is with me. It could have been worse and I thank God that it wasn’t.

On a more upbeat note, i’ve added some photos to this blog of my house and what i see in and around work