Lehlohonolo Nazo

Lehlohonolo (meaning “Lucky” in Sesotho) came to us in February 2007. Prior to living with us his life had seen much transition, but he has shown himself to be quite resilient and adaptable.

The Pines first learned of his situation through Morningstar, a sister organization with whom we work closely. Morningstar is a Christian Daycare that works with HIV+ children from the poorest backgrounds. Lehholonolo lived with his mother until the age of 4, when his mother died. He then went to live with his granny for a few weeks, but his granny is an alcoholic and was unable to properly care for him.

A volunteer at Morningstar took Lehholonolo in and cared for him for some time, but the granny became upset and began to torment this lady and her family. It was then decided that he could no longer live with her and he was briefly transferred to this lady’s mother for care. It was at this point that he came to live at The Pines.

Lehholonolo has proved to be quite intelligent and his English is the strongest of any of our children here. He picks up on things very quickly and has earned the nickname “Mr. Mimic”, as he will copy anything you say. This annoying habit has probably been largely responsible for his grasp of the English language.

While he is one of our brightest children, he also struggles in school more than most of our kids. We suspect he has dyslexia and because of this never built a good foundation. He has taught himself how to do most of his schoolwork without reading, but because of this has built some habits that need to be changed. In the last 6 months we have begun to focus on some intensive reading skills for him and have seen tremendous growth. Last term he made honor roll for the first time at school and he is working to make it again this term.

Leadership comes quite naturally to Lehholonolo, and most of the kids here look up to him. He has a strong mischievious streak, so sometimes that isn’t always the best thing, but usually he sets a good example for the other children.

Lehholonolo has struggled with various health issues from shingles, eye infections, to colds and allergy symptoms. He misses several days of school each term, and this frustrates him. He is very friendly and it is difficult for him to be isolated for entire days at the hospital. When Lehholonolo is struggling, it is surprising how much that affects our other children here. The entire demeanor of The Pines will change when he has a bad day.

Like all our children, Lehholonolo is learning about God. He has shown great spiritual growth and knows that Jesus Christ died to pay for his sins. He has professed faith in Him and is concerned that the other children here do the same. We trust that as he continues to be nurtured here at The Pines that the Holy Spirit will do a mighty work in and through his life. Already, as he attends church and bible study here at The Pines his knowledge continues to increase. We pray that his love for God would do so as well.

The life & Times of Louis & Amber - The Missing Day

On March 11th, we celebrated our 1 year anniversary in South Africa. This is one day later than originally intended. We left the USA on March 9th, and it usually is a 17-18 hour trip to arrive in Johannesburg. I won't rehash all the details, but here is a summary of what happened.

On Sunday morning we said goodbye to our families and flew out of Des Moines International Airport accompanied by my cousins, Ellie and Zach. In addition, we were traveling with Team 5 from Point of Grace church. Our flight from DSM to Atlanta was quite uneventful, and Meredith - 2 years old at the time - actually slept for about 45 minutes of that flight. Little were we to know that would be her last sleeping for about the next 24 hours.

We left Atlanta about 3:00 on Sunday afternoon, if my memory serves correctly. The flight to Johannesburg normally stops in Dakar, Senegal for refueling. Unfortunately, there was a large, international Muslim conference taking place in Dakar at the time, and the governments had apparently mutually decided that it would be best that no planes from the US land during that conference. So our flight was re-routed through the Sal Islands - property of the Portugese.

Usually the stop takes about an hour. After an hour and a half with no activity, it started to become apparent something was wrong. Eventually, we were notified there was a problem with the plane and we would disembark and spend some time in the airport. Turns out, we were to spend the next 13 hours in the airport. This was a very small airport with very few seats, although since everyone had been sitting for 8+ hours, floor space was actually more coveted than seating. Periodic announcements would come but no one really seemed to know what was going on.

We were fed some bread and juice at about 8:00am, then around noon we were taken to a couple of different eating establishments for a quick meal. All 13 hours in the airport we had a 2 year old fighting sleep. It seems she knew that if she slowed down for a minute, she would fall asleep. Therefore, she tried to remain as active as possible, keeping Amber & me on our toes as we took turns trying to nap and watch her at the same time.

Eventually, everything was cleared up. The delay was caused by a problem with the pilots emergency oxygen system. After landing they learned there was a leak and the tanks were empty. They had new tanks flown in from Dakar, but they quickly emptied, showing that the leak was in the system itself, not in the tanks. So it was determined that a new plane needed to be flown in from the US. Obviously, this took some time.

About 5:00pm, they transported us from the airport to a resort on the coast. The resort was mostly full, but the few empty rooms were reserved for people with children. Finally, having a 2 year old paid dividends! On the Point of Grace team there was an 11 year old boy, so his father arranged for us to get two rooms because of the two kids. All us guys took one room, and the girls took the other, and we got a chance to change and get refreshed. They served us a great meal at the resort, then about 12:00am they took us back to the airport. 23 hours after landing in the Sal Islands we took off. Finally, on the last 8 hours of the flight, Meredith settled down enough to sleep.

As a result of all this, we really didn't experience too much jet lag. Our bodies were so confused as to what time or even what day it was, that we didn't have time for jet lag. We arrived in Johannesburg a little after noon on March 11th. So for the rest of our lives, there will be one day missing that we can't really account for. Recently, Ellie sent me a picture that she had taken of us in the airport. This is about 20 hours after we departed from DSM, and Meredith only having slept 45 minutes of that time. This pretty much sums up how we felt the entire day.

The Life & Times of Louis & Amber - Attitude Adjustment

The kids at The Pines have grown accustomed to having their picture taken. Too accustomed, in fact. Between the Niehoff's, us, visiting teams, Birthday parties, outreaches, and other events, it is quite common to see cameras around the property. Before this last team left South Africa, we gathered everyone together for a group photo shoot, an event that becomes more complicated as we continue to grow.

Look closely at the group picture. As you will see, some of the kids don't appear too excited about another bunch of people interrupting their busy schedule to capture the moment for all time. I've taken the liberty to zoom in on a couple of them. Hopefully the resolution doesn't cause us to lose the quality of their expressions.
































Noticing the lack of excitement, we decided to liven things up a bit. What you can't see from the picture is that the kids are posing in the midst of a small flower garden. This flower garden was recently equipped with underground sprinklers that come up when the water is turned on. As it happened, the spigot was located conveniently close to my hand, and the temptation was too great. Gene, one of the team members, was able to capture this next photo on camera. Again, I've taken the liberty to zoom in on a couple, so as to vividly display the new emotions on their faces. Meredith, in particular, seems to be a bit of a drama queen. You would think that she was being charged by a lion or something.

The Life & Times of Louis & Amber - Billions of Bees

Recently, we had a small team visit The Pines from Point of Grace Church in Waukee, IA. The project of choice turned out to be new gutters and facia for portions of The Pines building. Unfortunately, it turned out the portion chosen was home to roughly 300 wasps, and several billion bees.

In one corner of the building there was a small crack, and these bees had found it an ideal location for a hive. When I say there were hundreds of thousands of bees swarming around here, it is not an exaggeration. As you can imagine, they were not excited about us poking around the entrance of their hive.

Our first method of attack was to use expanding, insulating foam to close the crack and prevent the bees from exiting or entering. We determined the best course of action would be to do this at nighttime, when the bees seemed to be most calm. The next morning, we woke up to find the bees had found a different entrance further down the crack. Another night of foaming, and in the morning we discovered the bees can, although with great difficulty, eat through aforementioned foam.

The next weapon in our small war was a smoking suppository, inserted into the building to hopefully eliminate the bee problem. This proved unsuccessful. Another attempt involved spraying the bees with retail insect killer. Again, a poor option. This only tipped off the insects to our intentions, and riled them up something fierce. In the midst of this Bill, a team member, suffered a bee sting, on top of the wasp sting received a day earlier on his hand.

After much discussion, we determined that the best option may be a truce - the "live and let live" approach. I was chosen as the most likable person, so it was my job to get up on the scaffold and work that section. Gene, a team member joined me, but as you can see, he didn't put much faith in the "live and let live" theory. Brian initially was my co-worker 30 feet up, but apparently bees can smell hostility, and Brian had been the main culprit of our previous attacks. Brian was quickly stung on the hand, then again on the side of the head, so he chose to cease and desist.

It was then that Gene made the decision to sacrifice personal comfort for the sake of new gutters. While Gene was the only one who escaped unscathed, I think he may have suffered more in the 90 degree heat wearing his homemade bee suit.

The next decision was to just try and finish that section at night, which seemed mostly successful, except that Sylvia, one of the housemothers, was unable to sleep with the extensive pounding and general commotion. Most of the hazardous section was completed in the dark.

Considering the variety of stings distributed amongst the team members, a great debate raged as to whose was the manliest. Manliness was an ongoing discussion during the week, with Brian as the de facto standard, as he refuses to wear leather work gloves regardless of the job. I maintain that while Bill's wasp sting showed the most swelling, as it was on the hand it did not qualify as Most Manly. Brian suffered two stings - one to the head, one to the hand - and while the head would normally take top honors, in my mind I emerged from the fray as most manly. While on the top of the scaffold riveting gutter, I felt a bee land on my eyebrow. As I danced my "get off, get off" jig, the bee decided to continue his ill fated attack and sting me anyway. Although, I think I won since the bee died as a result of his decision.

Anyway, after coming down from the scaffold, I was examined by the others and Brian found the remains of the stinger lodged in my eyelid. The pain was minimal, and was completely gone within a couple hours, to the point that I forgot it really had happened. Unfortunately, after a good night's sleep, I awoke to find my eyelid quite swollen and difficult to keep open. Which is further evidence that I take home first prize as the most manly of men.

The Life & Times of Louis & Amber - Ladies Man

As one of the oldest in a large family, I quickly learned there are advantages to infant siblings. Namely, that they are a good way to get the chicks. For whatever reason O'Tool babies tend to be much more adorable when they are young, and steadily become more annoying/repulsive as they grow older. So you really need to take advantage when you're young. Unfortunately, I didn't learn this when I was still small and adorable. Fortunately my parents proved fertile enough to allow me to take advantage of the fleeting O'Tool adorableness vicariously. In other words, as a teenager, us older boys used the small ones to attract female attention.

There are few times in life when you have a camera when you need it. Today was one of those times. The sequence of photos below will tell the story. Lerato-a 2 year old girl, and Tumi-a 2 year old boy, decided to join us for homework time today. Obviously, Tumi is more intelligent than I was at his age. He's learned how to turn his own charm to his advantage, thereby eliminating the need for younger siblings. See the progression below. Ladies, you tell me if you could have resisted.





Lerato - As you can see, it's no wonder Tumi felt such attraction.











Tumi - Simply irresistible.











The idea in it's formative stages















The part where most chicken out















Paydirt
















And who hasn't been here before...um, me neither












Not sure if he's gloating, or planning for next time










A picture is worth a thousand words.

The Life & Times of Louis & Amber - Bad News/Good News

Normally on the blog I try to get a good mix of lighthearted anecdotes along with stories of the more serious aspects of our ministry. While I hate to throw such heavy reading on you twice in a row, that’s the reality of life here; you never know when you will receive news that can rock your world. Following is a story that may break your heart. I know it does mine.

The Pines capacity is currently 24 children. We had 22 until one of our boys went to live with his father in December. Some quick math will tell you this left us with 3 open spaces. This is not common, as normally we are forced to turn people away. We decided a couple weeks ago that we should pray for God to fill us to capacity while bringing just the right children whom we could serve best.

Warning: Prayer can be a dangerous thing. Within 24 hours, Lois received requests to take in 7 children. There were three children in one family, whose mother and father had both been admitted to the hospital for undisclosed care. Another set of three came from a family in Hani Park. From previous updates you may remember Hani Park as one of the roughest places to live. The mother of these children is in hospice care, meaning her outlook seems grim. The last child was needing care, but we are not sure what the reason was.

After some discussion, we determined we could handle these, as most of them would only be here on a temporary basis. That afternoon the first three arrived. These kids stayed only for a few days, when a relative from another province arrived to care for them while the parents remained hospitalized.

When the day passed without any word on the other children, Lois contacted the social worker to see why the children hadn’t arrived. Social workers here each are assigned to a zone, and then they also work a rotating schedule for “emergency” situations. Lois learned from the social worker that had initially contacted us that it had been determined that the single boy had a place to live, so by providing a food parcel, he would be cared for sufficiently.

The other three had not come because when the social workers arrived to fetch them, no one was home. Lois queried as to what would be done, as obviously the situation hadn’t just corrected itself. She was told that now another social worker was on the “emergency” list, so word would be passed along. After a couple days and additional calls, it was clear that the case was not proceeding.

Then came one of those days you wish could be forgotten. The Pines received a call from the hospice that was caring for the mother of the three children. They requested that we come help, as tragedy had struck. When Brian & Lois arrived in Hani Park, they learned that the oldest child, a 9 year old girl, had decided that life was no longer worth the struggle. She had committed suicide by laying down on the train tracks. In addition, she had tried to get her 7 year old brother to join her, even to the point of attempting to hold him on the tracks with her. He was able to struggle and escape, but her life was quickly ended.

That day Brian & Lois brought the boy-Ndephewe, along with the 15 month old sister (whose name I can neither spell or pronounce), back to The Pines for care. Thankfully, the mother was in favor of this, and seems grateful for the assistance. The Niehoff’s also assisted with the funeral plans and preparations, as funerals are, or have become, very important to this culture.
Ndephewe, as you would imagine, remains traumatized by the event, having witnessed his sister’s suicide, and having narrowly escaped himself. He is willing to talk about what occurred, which seems to be a step in the right direction. We have learned that children can be tremendously resilient, as so many of our kids have seen and experienced more than we can even imagine. He has adjusted to life at The Pines very well. Already he is enrolled in Dunamis, the Christian school our children attend, and appears to be thriving. The kids here do a wonderful job accepting and helping the new kids as they arrive, and he is already assisting in the normal mischief of the boys his age.

The baby arrived malnourished, with sores on her face and body. The sores are already healing and she is showing more strength every day. While she is almost a year and a half old, her development is similar to Drake-our 5 month old. The mothers are doing a great job caring for and nourishing her, and we are confident that God will bless and bring her to full strength quickly.



Last Saturday the funeral for the older sister was held. I attended with several of our older children and one of the mamas, who came along to care for the baby. At first, Ndephewe seemed tentative, even a bit shy. It’s hard to tell whether that was because of the somber event, or because of his return home. After a half hour or so, he warmed up and soon was running and playing with the other children. Oftentimes, funerals become a social event. It seemed as if Ndephewe forgot completely what was going on and just enjoyed being back with the children he knows. Again, tragedy and death have become such a part of the culture that it seems so commonplace. There isn’t a person here that hasn’t experienced the death of a close friend of family member.

As a member of The Pines, and possibly as the only Caucasian, I garnered more than my share of attention. While not on the program to speak, they carved out a few minutes for me to speak. I was not notified of this beforehand, but after spending almost a year here, we’ve learned to be prepared for about anything. It gave me a wonderful opportunity to share the message of salvation in Jesus Christ. I noted that life is full of news, both good and bad. While we were gathered because of bad news, God has given us the best news anyone can ever receive-assurance of eternal life in heaven. Given the impact of death on this culture, it is imperative to make a decision on your eternal destiny today. Regardless of where you live, no one is promised the next breath, let alone another day or year.

As I said, funerals are a social event. The speaking, preaching, and singing went on for several hours, and the crowd continued to grow. Soon it was time to head to the cemetery for the burial. Transportation is at a premium, and we had the biggest vehicle around. I started getting requests for a ride a good hour before we left, and by time I got back to the van, a crowd had gathered and I had to fight my way through to the door. I made sure The Pines children got in first, then there was a free for all. After we got to the cemetery about a mile away, I counted the passengers. In a 12 passenger van 28 adults had packed themselves in, along with the 8 children from The Pines.

After another hour or so of singing and speaking at the gravesite the burial started. I had wanted to get a few photos, but right as the shovels arrived the battery in my camera died. I was quickly handed a shovel and pitched in to help. No one leaves the graveside until its filled. As soon as I started to throw dirt, about 10 people rushed over with their cell phones to get a photo. Apparently it was a novelty for me to be involved in the process. I don’t write this to minimize the tragedy-throughout the whole day I couldn’t forget why we were here, and what circumstances had led us to be burying a child who should have been just starting life. One of the most poignant reminders of life in South Africa came at the gravesite; on one side – a row of empty graves waiting for the next child, on the other – a row of freshly filled graves. And during the entire graveside ceremony there were 4 guys about 50 feet away digging more graves.

For whatever reason, God blessed me and allowed me to be brought up in a loving home, a home where Christ was preached. I was raised in the richest country the world has ever known. And this girl from the day she was born barely had a chance. Our heart’s cry out to God that we can continue to reach people and restore hope to a society where it is not known. Not just reach people with food, clothing, shelter, and education, but reach them with everlasting hope-the joy of knowing Jesus Christ as a friend and Savior.



P.S. After the burial it is customary to provide a meal. Maybe that’s another reason why funerals garner such a crowd. I’ll be the first to say I was a bit tentative coming in, but was I ever wrong. While the food was definitely African, and prepared African-style over an open flame in big pots, it was delicious. I’m going to have to get the recipe from one of our mamas.

The Mpemvana Boys

In our December update we told how we were able to take many of The Pines kids back to their old neighborhoods to visit friends and family. On our blog I shared a brief story of the three boys from Phomolong, a township about 30 minutes from Welkom.
When we arrived, the three boys were greeted warmly. The oldest, Tankiso, in particular seemed to be a favorite of the entire community. Everyone who saw him had to run over and pinch his cheek or give him a big hug. I’ve never met an 11 year old that seemed to have as big a fan base as this boy.
For anyone who knows him, it is easy see why he seems to be a favorite. While only 11, he is very mature and responsible, yet still able to have fun. The three boys have two olders sisters, ages 17 and 14, who still live in Phomolong as the social workers have deemed them able to fend for themselves.
Even though he is not the oldest, it is clear Tankiso has taken it on himself to care for the younger two. Anytime someone is doling out candy, toys, clothing, etc...Tankiso makes sure his brothers are not overlooked.
While my dad was here he noticed during Bible Study that when candy was given for correct answers, Tankiso would eat one piece, then save two. It seems he was making sure to keep enough to be able to share with the two younger boys.
On our way through the township to find the boys home, we found the oldest sister. She directed us to the auntie’s house because the mother is no longer living at the same place as when we received the boys a year ago. The three boys were removed because of neglect and poor living conditions, and it seems things have only gotten worse since then.
When we reached the auntie’s house, there was a big celebration, as this was the first time any of them had seen the youngest since the boys had been removed from the home. Two aunts made a point to thank and bless my mother, whom they thought was the one who had been taking care of Tumi. Over and over they kept saying how we had “saved his life”. Of course, since the boyscame to The Pines at the end of January last year, we weren’t the ones here, but there is little doubt that if they hadn’t received the care they did, Tumi would not be alive today.
Once things calmed down just a bit, someone thought to go find the boy’s mother. While they were removed for neglect and poor living conditions, apparently things had only gotten worse, and the mother no longer lived in the same house where the boys were from. After a few minutes, while everyone else was still enjoying the reunion, the mother arrived.
It was clear from everyone’s reaction that this was not a happy home. When they realized she was there, Tshidiso (5 years) instantly broke into tears and went to the oldest sister. Tankiso moved back behind one of the aunts, almost as if he was hoping she wouldn’t notice him. Tumi was oblivious and didn’t even seem to recognize her.
The mother took Tumi and held him, but for all anyone could tell, he thought she was a stranger. Eventually, the other two boys responded to prompting and hugged her, but the awkwardness was evident to all, and the hug didn’t last long.
Tankiso quickly excused himself and asked me if he could go down the street to visit some friends. I followed along just to make sure things would be ok. Again, I was amazed at the reception. Everyone knew this guy, and everyone seemed to love him.
Eventually, we had to declare our intention to leave. A crowd had gathered of probably 75 people, and it seemed that the festivities would have lasted all day if we hadn’t insisted it was time to go. We have learned that goodbyes are a process, so you have to plan ahead and get the process started early. This time was no exception. The crowd migrated from the auntie’s yard to the road, then surrounding our car, then to a neighbor’s house, then again back to our car.
Finally, we were able to get everyone loaded up. On the way to the township, my dad had purchased a Coke for the boys. I had noticed that Tankiso wouldn’t drink, only giving it to Tshidiso and Tumi. When it was time to go, I saw him pull out the half-full bottle and give it to his older sisters. Apparently he had been rationing it so there would be enough to give to them.
Perhaps because of the uncertainty of life goodbyes have grown into such an event. We didn’t know at the time, but it would be the last time the boys were able to see their mother. We received word in mid-January that she had passed away.
Funerals are also quite an event. While our family was out of town, Brian & Lois Niehoff made sure to be involved. We learned that in this culture, if you are a twin there are special funeral customs. First, the funeral must start early - as in 4:30 am. Brian was certain that since nothing happens on time, he could arrive at 5:00 and still make it. When he got there at 5:00, everything was over and they were already serving lunch.
Culturally, it is customary for the family of the deceased to provide a meal. Since the mother was a twin, we found out they only had half a meal - dumplings and vegetables only, no meat.
Another tradition is that the surviving twin will climb into the coffin first, then climb into the open grave. I guess that is supposed to extend the life of the survivor. When we expressed to the housemothers our surprise at some of these customs, they were also surprised until learning she was a twin. Once they knew that, they responded as if all this was as it should be.
The week leading up to the funeral, the family requested that the boys stay in Phomolong. They wanted to ensure that the boys would be there for the funeral. Since these children have been entrusted to our care, we were leary of leaving them. In an effort to accommodate the family, we allowed the boys to spend the afternoon and night before with the family as long as one of the housemothers stayed with them. When Brian and several other Pines children arrived the next morning, he found the boys were still sleeping. Apparently the family had decided that 4:30 am is too early for the boys to get up, so they were allowed to sleep through the whole thing.
One blessing we experienced is that the other Pines children took the opportunity to speak to many people about their eternal destination. The 14 year old sister in particular was very concerned. She told them that she wanted to be sure she would be in Heaven, but she didn’t know how. Several of the kids shared with her that the Bible says Heaven is a free gift.
They explained that you don’t have to do anything to merit eternal life. It is simply an issue of belief. You have to admit that you are a sinner and accept that Jesus paid the punishment for your sin. Once you do that, God accepts your debt of sin as paid. The sister said she would do that, and with the kids there, she prayed, asking God for eternal life for herself. While the life these children have led is difficult, what greater blessing than to know for certain you will be in Heaven.