Another one from Lisa:
Don’t you love it when things just work, well sort of…
I was going through all our donated clothes, and sorting them. Final
verdict: we have lots of clothes for infants, and adults, and nothing
for boys or girls ages 2 to 14. This, of course, is the age group we work
with at the care points and these kids are in rags. I prayed, went to bed, and woke up to find an email from one of our FYM girls that had visited Nsoko a few months ago. Catherine had been speaking at churches and had raised $377 just for the kids in Nsoko! I immediately went to the store, I figure money spent here helps the local economy and takes out shipping fees as well.
The biggest chain retailer here had just marked all there summer clothes and extra 50% off the clearance price. I rolled up my sleeves and dug in, along with half the Swazis women in town.
We
politely pushed and shoved each other for hours, “sorry”, “excuse me,”
over and over.
It was about 100 degrees, and of total chaos, but I
stayed focused on my goal… NEW clothes for these kids at about a dollar
an item!
In
the states, they would have had air-conditioning, brought in enough
staff to deal with the rush, open enough registers, and had baskets for
the customers. They also probably would have had their system ready to automatically take off the extra 50%….but this is Africa.
None
of the discount would come up so when they scanned the tag, so they had
to manually punch in ALL the numbers, and then discount it, FOR EACH OF
THE HUNDREDS OF ITEMS I WAS BUYING.
To make the
process even more fun only the ONE supervisor could do this, and of
course she to leave every couple minutes to help with other supervisor
duties. Half way through they accidently voided
everything, and had to start again.
After shopping and shorting for 2
hours, Caleb and I stood in line for another 3, all the while being
cussed at and talked about, and laughed at in Zulu and SiSwati. This is a little town, and most people know the “American Pastor” from the radio, and easily identify me as Mrs. Black.
In
America I would have been a little agitated, but this is Africa, so I
just spoke in tongues to myself while Caleb and I fantasized about cold
water, food, and a cool shower, all the while smiling, hugging each
other and giving each other the cheezy and slightly fake, “thumbs up,
we are HAVING A BALL” face.
We boughteverything we could use, and spent exactly 375 USDs…..(I know, I know,I impressed my own self,)! I still don’t have Emily Davis’ shopping anointing, but this was a good day. Still need about 300 pairs of underwear and 100 pairs of shorts for boys, and some more dresses for girls.Another $200 USD donation would more than cover it, ensuring EACH child gets a complete new outfit!
If anyone wants to donate, you can give directly by clicking on
Give to the Nsoko Project. You will get the tax deduction, and all the money will go to clothes for the kids!
