I'm Back!!!

Hey lovelies!!!

I can't wait to share with you all all of my pictures and stories. Especially about seeing Rose and Matsabana (the little girl you might remember me wanting to bring home last year from Little Angels). Both were in great condition! Overall the trip was amazing! Thank you all for thinking of me and sending me prayers and good thoughts!

I'll try to post again soon once I'm slightly more adjusted to not being in Africa anymore and once I've caught up on what I've missed for the past month.

Lots and lots of love!
~jessie

Don't worry, Be happy! - Bob Marley

Hello Parents!

Greetings once again from Africa! Sad to say this will be the last email you will be getting from us before you get to see our lovely faces.

Here's a quick run through of the day. We split up into two groups this morning. One group stayed at Thorns to Hear a speaker talk about her battle with HIV/AIDS and the other group went to a Mental Hospital (I'm sure you can figure out who those people were... Joke!). Both group really enjoyed themselves and each learned something new as we always do. We reconvened to do some shopping at the Basotho Hat. It's a store that sells Lesotho souvenirs. I noticed quite a few kids buying things so get ready for some presents coming your way!

We had lunch at Nando's in place of meeting the king. We got to enjoy Magnum bars (ice cream) so I think we all agree it was a fair trade off!

We came back in the afternoon to pack up our belongings for the last time and say goodbye to our little friends. We are all sad to leave this beautiful country, but are very happy to be coming home to you.

This trip has been an emotional rollercoaster to say the least, but we are all leaving with great memories and a broader understanding on a new culture and life itself.

If at any time you need to get a hold of us, please feel free to contact Chris Hymns at (0027)824550044. He will be able to get in contact with us so don't hesitate to call!

We can't wait to see your lovely faces when we arrive back in America. We love and miss you all very much.

Love Love Love,

Tarah Pike and Marisa Perez

Perez family: I love you guys so much! can't wait to see you and tell you all about my experiences here! get ready for some monkey's coming your way, Christian!!!! Hahahaha!!!!

Mullen Family: Colleen would like to have a BBQ when she get's home. Thank you!

Pike family: Thank you for being supportive throughout my trip. I miss you guys so much and I love love love you!!!

can't wait to see you and tell you EVERYTHING!

I bless the rains down in Africa!

Hello family and friends!

Just in time for our last work day the skies opened and the rains came. We all had cold soggy mornings but at the end of the day we completed all the work we had set out to do. Once again we split into two groups and one of them spent their day at a Lesotho save the children farm, and the other at a school outside of Morija. The weeding continued at the farm and also work on some of the green houses located there. At the school, work was completed on the playground as well as inside with the painting. Luckily by lunch the rain cleared up and the sun came out to help motivate us through the rest of the afternoon. The group at the school played a soccer game against a local high school boys team. The game ended in a 0-0 tie, even though the high school team tried to claim a goal that was "clearly offsides". It was a great cultural experience for all in attendance, including all of the fans that showed up to cheer on both sides! Meanwhile, the afternoon at the farm remained festive and productive. The group left the farm wet and dirty but excited and proud of what had been accomplished; with all the weeds gone work can now begin on the interior of the buildings which can be set up to be inhabited this coming August. Today was our last day of work, and we ended it with the usual group meeting before dinner which was concluded with a speech by Dr. Rosenberg. Everyone was touched by his words and greatfulness. Today was a great way to end our experience here in Lesotho and we look forward to our trip to Kruger and the remainder of our time here.

Erin and Charlotte

Shout outs!

Jack, Cherie, Fred and Sarah- all I want is cookies, seriously I talk about them daily... and a watch :) love you guys! can't wait to get sailing!

Mom, Dad, Katie, Maggie, Alex, and everyone else this letter is making its way out to:) Love and miss you all!!

LETS GO PENS!!!

Howdy :)

Hey Everyone!!!

Today we split into three groups. One went to Lesotho Save the Children farm, one went to Maholi ECCD (Preschool) and St. Peter's Primary School. The last group continued visits at Baylor Pediatric AIDS Clinic. Lesotho Save the Children is an organization that helps orphaned youth learn life skills and vocational skills. The farm group worked on clearing away weeds from gardens and building footpaths. The farm provides food for orphans as well as a means of income for the adolescents who sell the surplus crops. The plan is for the farm to be up and running by the beginning of August. The school group split into two subgroups. One group painted an alphabet in a classroom and the other group started construction on a playground. Despite having a minor setback (missing all the nails and thread bars), we adapted and overcame by digging and cementing all the holes. While we were there, we were served traditional Lesotho foods and the students performed several traditional dances. So cute! They even let some of us get into the Lesotho dancing costumes and groove with them!

It is hard to believe that we are approaching our last work day tomorrow. The trip is winding down! Can't wait to see you when we get back in the U. S. of A! Yay!

Tiger Up!

Kristen Miller, Becca Zajac, Amy Cox

Shout Outs:

Witt Vball Team...OOOooo!

ET

Amy's: Jeff, Jane, Kevin, and Mitchell, Meemaw Schu, Bradley, Bri Bri, Cotterman family, Feightner family, and the rest of the Cox, Stutz, Schumacher clan...I miss you and love you guys!

Kristen's: Mom, Dad, Megan, Katie, Ryan, Grandma & Grandpa...I love you all and miss you so much!!! And I expect Chicken Crescent Rolls when I return :) Thanks in advance!!!!!!!!!! Love you!

Becca's: Paula, John, Sissy, Aunt Claudie, Stef, Buns, Berg, Markie, Trixie and Shade.....love you guys and tell the Wings to bring the cup home to HOCKEY TOWN!!!!

HOLLLAAAA!!!

HELLO FELLOW AMERICANS!!!

Today in the far away land of Lesotho we had many adventures. We began our day with breakfast in our usual dining area. Luckily breakfast was pushed back a half hour so we were able to sleep in until 7:30. Poor Colleen however was not so lucky; she was feeling a little under the weather. No worries she is feeling much better now and is ready for our adventures tomorrow. After breakfast we loaded up in the vans like a herd of cattle and headed toward Maseru. We then divided up into different groups and went our separate ways.

One group went to the Maseru Children’s Village, a Lesotho Save the Children orphanage, and began painting the walls. The second group continued to work with PHCL and Skillshare volunteers delivering goods to needy families in villages around Maseru. A small group of lovely and talented females spent the whole day at Baylor Pediatric AIDs Clinic. After a morning of hard and physically strenuous work we reconvened for lunch. Where we were surprised with delicious Chomp bars (wafers covered in caramel and delicious milk chocolate YUMMMM).

After lunch, the group that painted in the morning stayed and delivered goods to the families in the villages while the other group went to the orphanage and finished the painting of the walls and also held a soccer clinic. A group of 11 of us worked alongside four Lesotho National soccer players to coach 35 orphans at a soccer clinic at local orphanage. They spent an hour and a half working on various skills. At the end of the clinic we donated; jerseys, shorts, shoes, and futbols- soccer balls. It was great to play and frolic with the children.

We then ventured back to the charming Trading Post and had our nightly group meeting. We then enjoyed another delicious dinner and dessert. We plan on having a relaxing evening and prepare for our next work site.

Forever yours,

Sinjin, Erica, and Colleen

P.S. to our families please be waiting at the airport (June 18) with Chipotle (Qdoba) and/or Ice cream. Thank you much J

Colleen: HOLLA...see you June 18^th J

Erica: kisses and cardswipes…what paperclip?

Sinjin: See you soon. Mark- No frogs found J

Learning About Lesotho Time

This morning we worked with two local groups in Maseru to distribute goods to families they knew were in need. Different members of the committee were from the respective villages so they actually knew the people we were helping. We broke into smaller groups and found our assigned houses and gave the families a blanket, petroleum jelly, a large bar of multi-purpose soap, a 5lb bag of maize, and some cabbage seeds. We also dug a hole for the fruit tree we will be delivering later and dug a new garden to plant the cabbage in. It was really cool to get to see the people we were helping firsthand and where they live. Personally, I met a set of three brothers who were all orphaned and I couldn’t even imagine the life they live; it definitely had an impact on me. I know for everyone else, walking through the villages and seeing what these people really have put a lot of things into perspective and made us all thankful for what we have at home.

One particularly notable part of the day was working with the local organizations and learning about “Lesotho time.” Dr. Rosenburg had warned us about it but we got to experience it firsthand today. Lesotho time is the concept that time isn’t nearly as big of a priority here like it is at home. It was frustrating for a few of us, but I can guarantee we all learned from it! Overall, it was quite a fulfilling, lesson-learning day!

Can you believe we will be back in just 10 days?? We sure can't!!

See you all soon!

-- Emily and Jeff

PS Jeff says hey to Eppy and misses her desperately and wants to cuddle with her and Emily can't wait to hug her puppies! Oh yeah, and we miss our families too! :)

Hello from Africa!

Hey parents etc.!

This morning we had some free time so quite a few of us decided to go to church, either to the Catholic service in Roma (where we’re staying) or the Anglican service in Maseru (Lesotho’s capital). We both went to the Catholic service which was all in Sesotho but was interestingly easy to follow since Catholic masses follow the same general formula. The students who went to the Anglican service said they were well received and they got to talk to some of the Basotho church goers.

Before lunch we were invited to a mokete (a big party where the Basotho in Roma celebrated the work we’ve been doing in the community). There was lots of singing and dancing and speeches and then we were invited to join in a big feast. It was really rewarding to see the community come together and make us feel so welcomed and appreciated.

We had the rest of the afternoon off. About half the group tried to go to a soccer game which apparently didn’t ever exist so they toured around downtown Roma. Others went to see the dinosaur footprints, about a half an hour from where we’re staying. I think that where ever we were though, everyone enjoyed another beautiful African sunset.

It’s bittersweet thinking about going home. We are all excited to see you and share stories but it’ll be sad to leave this beautiful country!

Khotso (Peace),

Jessie Voors and Sarah Mutton (aka the Canterbury Alums)

PS (from Jessie) – Moms, I love and miss you guys and I’m thinking about you a lot!

--> JP, I can’t wait to see you babe! I love you! I love you! I love you!

---> All the people thinking about my friend, Rose, I found her house and aunt today but because she’s already taken her exams she’s back home with her parents in Maseru. I got her phone number and Dr. Rosenberg said that he’ll try his best to work it out so that I can see her on Friday. So I’m pretty excited for that. I love you all!!!

PS (from Sarah) – Happy birthday Mom!!! I have been thinking about you all day and I hope it has been a good one! I am having the time of my life and can’t believe it is almost the end of my trip! I can’t wait to see you all and tell everyone I say hello and tell Dad the dental clinics have been great and I am basically a pro at varnish treatments : )

Love you and see you soon….and if we could have tacos for dinner when I get home that’d be great.

Thaba Bosiu Hiking Adventure

Hi all!

Greetings from Lesotho! Last night we had a lovely dinner at the Maseru Sun, which is a hotel in Lesotho's capital city. The food was great and everyone had a fun and relaxing evening. It was an open buffet so we all had PLENTY to eat. Little did we know, we had dinner with the king. AKA we saw his car and the mass amount of security as we were leaving. Though we were still full from last night's meal, we had a chance to work all that food off this morning on our hike up Thaba Bosiu.

Thaba Bosiu is known to be the most sacred place in Lesotho. In 1833 King Moshoeshoe, the founder of Lesotho, united all the clans on top of Thaba Bosiu because of its natural protection from enemies. During the day the mountain looks accessible, however once you begin the ascent the mountain seems to grow in front of you. Regardless of this tale, we were able to make it to the top, after frequent breaks. We took a ton of great pictures and saw the final resting place of the great Moshoeshoe and his descendents. This afternoon we came back for some lunch and a little free time before we had a guest lecture on Lesotho culture. As we look forward to this evening we are hoping for no rain so that we attend a bonfire at one of our previous worksites.

Have a great weekend,

Danielle Remington (Hi mom, dad, Chris, Josh, grandma!! Miss you all and love you!)
Meredith Berzins ( Hi family and friends! Miss you guys, love you guys and see you soon!)

Kirsten Midgley (Hi mom and dad miss you and love you!)

Lumelo! (Friday)

Today we returned to LCCU to finish up the projects we started yesterday. The girls and boys bedrooms look fantastic as well as the bathrooms and the laundry room. We started painting the therapy room and the kitchen today. We focused on adding color and imagination to these rooms. We also finished the playground. At the end of the day when the kids got back from school and we finished our projects we had a dance party! It was a cultural melting pot of dance styles with varying degrees of skill.

Tonight we are having a night on the town in Maseru. We are going to a restaurant called Maseru Sun which is an all you can eat buffet type restaurant so everyone is very excited.

It is hard to believe we have 1 week left in Lesotho. The trip has gone by so fast! See you soon!

Betsy and Betty

Lumela!

Greetings from Lesotho!

We had an excellent day today! We left Thorns around 8:45 and had a 15 minute
drive to LCCU (Lesotho Child Counseling Unit). LCCU is a home for abused,
neglected, and abandoned children run by Me Lydia, a former social worker. Our
projects included building our second playground and painting the children's
rooms and bathrooms. The men and women from the Lesotho Youth Work Camp were
there to help us with the playground which made digging the holes and mixing the
cement go a lot faster. By the time we left we had the frame, bridge, and
monkey-bars built and cemented into the ground. In the boys' room we painted
cars, trucks, planes, and animals. In the girls' room we painted a majestic
garden. The bathroom was a whimsical nautical theme. When the children got back
from school, they were so excited to see their beautiful new rooms and partially
built playground!

While today was an excellent day, most of us would say that one of the
highlights was seeing a pig the size of a small horse. Apparently that size is
normal in Lesotho! We will be keeping our eyes open for more.

Tomorrow we will be back at LCCU to finish the playground, paintings, and to
plant fruit trees!

Can't wait to see everyone in two weeks!

Sara Mewhort and Elyse Adams

Lesotho Update: Back from Vacation With a Humbling Return

We're back from Vacation!

Sorry for not writing the past couple days, we did not have any computer access. We spent the weekend and early part of the week amongst the vast mountains in Ramabanta. The view was spectacular and served as a constant source of amazement. The highlight of the weekend had to be the horseback riding up the mountains. It was a 2-3 hour trek that took us up the mountain, and ended with crossing a river and galloping back to town. We all thought our horses were going a million miles an hour, although the instructors thought it was more of a trot. Other than that, most of us just relaxed by fly fishing, hiking, and even climbing a mountain as guided by the village children.

On Monday and Tuesday we spent the day at two work sites in the community. One was converting an abandoned building into a community center. That group spent the two days installing new windows, leveling the floor (jealous), and repairing the roof. In the future the space will be used as a space for families of the village to host events and come together. The other group spent both days working on a playground for the local village kids at their primary school. We did a pretty good job, without any directions mind you!

Today we ventured into Maseru the capital city to visit two sites. The first was the Baylor Pediatric AIDS clinic and the other was a textile factory. At Baylor we hosted a carnival for around 100-150 HIV positive kids with their parents and caretakers. We had an array of fun games that included coloring, temporary tattoos, parachuting, and football (soccer). It was a humbling experience actually putting a face to the AIDS epidemic in Africa. After the carnival we stopped to have lunch in a Portuguese restaurant called Nando's. The textile factory in Maseru was another eye opening experience. Its main products were jeans for U.S. companies such as Levi, Gap, Old Navy, Ann Taylor, and Calvin Klein. We were able to see the sewing room floor, which was filled with hundreds of workers sewing, washing, and sorting jeans. It was interesting to see the way jeans were made, (even seeing the machine to make wears and tears on them), but it left us asking a lot of questions leading to a deep discussion upon our return to Thorns. All and All it was a very eventful couple of days starting off with a relaxing and fun weekend in Ramabanta with a humbling return today with the two sites in Maseru.

Also, we have another blog going at the link below, it has more updates as well as pictures of our adventures. Feel free to leave comments for us!

http://light.wittenberg.edu/blog/lesotho/

ONE LOVE!

Kent Wilson
Jon Duraj

p.s. Many of us our devastated about the Cavs loss. We just heard about it today and are upset.

P.s.s. Hi Mom--from Kent

Lumela!

Hello!!

After finishing two amazing days at Little Angels Day Care Center we are off to Ramabanta in the morning. We have perfected cement mixing, trench digging, mural painting, and entertaining 40 Basotho children all in a matter of a little over a week. Imagine what we will accomplish by trips end!

At Little Angels we finished the foundation for the chicken coup. We also painted many murals on the day care building. One mural was a large circle filled with each members handprint as well as the childrens. Around the circle it read: The Children Are Our Future, in both English and Sesotho.

Saturday and Sunday we will be hiking and resting in Ramabanta with no access to a computer. Also, Monday and Tuesday will be spent in the village building a playground for the community center. So we will be unable to send an email until Wednesday evening.

This trip has exceeded our expectations and we are looking forward to what the rest of the trip has in store. We can't wait to tell you all of the stories in person!!

Love,

Kelsey Rosinski...LOVE YOU DAD and MOM and EV!!!! miss you!

Maggie Amorello...miss you fam, love you!

Mitch Cohagan...love and miss you, mom and dad. p.s. I have a beard.

Greetings from Africa - Day Six

Dumela!!!

Today we started working at a new project site called Little Angels. This is a pre-school for orphans who do not have a place to go during the day. They are given two meals a day and a place to be safe while playing.

Half of the group spent the day at the school painting on the side of the building. We painted angels, a world, and a mural of Lesotho scenery. Tomorrow we will paint the kitchen as well with vegetables and other types of food. While we were painting we were also spending time with the adorable children. We have found through this trip that they love to steal our sunglasses and wear them and take pictures with our cameras. They also love to be held and use our bodies as jungle gyms. As always, it is a great experience to make a child's day by playing with them, especially to orphaned children.

The other half of the group spent time working on building a chicken coup. At this location, the Lesotho Youth Work Camp volunteers joined us to help build. Some people started digging a trench by measuring out the dimensions, and then using pick-axes and shovels. A few others cleared the top layer of grass off an area to use for making cement. We were able to dig out the entire trench, which took the entire morning. In the afternoon, we started making cement, which was a very fun and dirty job. We began filling the trench with the cement for foundation. Tomorrow we will start laying bricks and creating the structure for the chickens to live in.

Shout Outs:

• Volleyball Team
• Paula and John, Sissy and Frank, Trix and Shady (HEY HEY HOCKEY TOWN)
• Cox family (Good luck in your tournament Kevin. GO GREEN!)
• Yusk family, and Stella and Walker
• E.T. Strong
• Steve, Tracey, Kirsten, Eva + more family
• Seth, Brad, Jeff <3

Khotso,

Katherine Yuskewich, Becca Zajac, Amy Cox, Siri Hill

Day Five - Update from Lesotho

Lumela!

Today was a little different for us all. We were able to sleep past 7:30 and we didn't have any physical labor in our plans. After a 9:00 breakfast, we had a language lesson with Mapokah and learned the meanings of most of our Sesotho names. At 11:00, Dr. Rosenberg planned a scavenger hunt for us all to learn more about the area. The winners received small gifts from the gift shop here at Thorns.

After our scavenger hunt, we had a cookout for lunch and then about an hour long break.

We spent the next two hours listening to two speakers, a Lesotho war historian and a Lesotho anthropologist, who educated us about a Lesotho queen from WWII and gender conflict in Lesotho politics. Dr. Rosenberg then surprised us with a performance by the local children of a traditional dance in handmade clothing. Don't worry, we all documented this amazing dance extensively!

After our quick nightly meeting regarding trip logistics and local culture, we were more than ready for dinner. It was a pretty tiring day, but we will be getting plenty of rest tonight so that we will be ready for work at the next service site tomorrow!

Khotso,

Millie and Lindley

Day Four - Update from Lesotho

Lumela Loved Ones!

Today marked day two of working at the Habitat for Humanity worksite in Nazareth, Lesotho where we're building housing for orphans. Like yesterday, we split up into two main groups: one digging the foundation for a new building and one adding to an existing foundation (leveling the dirt floor, cementing bricks, etc.). It's safe to say there was a significant change in the work atmosphere today. Having had one day of experience under our belts, we stressed less and laughed more--being productive while still getting to know the local volunteers and children. One of the Basotho took it upon himself to start teaching some of our girls one of their "traditional" dance moves, shovel in hand...which later inspired more "cultural sharing" at lunch :)

We spent out lunch hour playing the Lesotho version of Duck Duck Goose (wayyy more fun doing it their way) and an interesting hybrid of London Bridge is Falling Down and Tug-a-War with Witt students, village children, and adult volunteers all participating. So great! :)

The fun continued into the afternoon where we celebrated the leveling of the house floor with a multi-generational/cultural dance party..."just to be sure the dirt was completely packed down." We do whatever it takes!

Throughout the day, we Wittenbergers also had the high honor of receiving our Sesotho names. Each name has a special meaning and was given to us by a Masotho. Some examples of the meanings include: Appreciated, Appreciation, Angel, Prayer, Praise, Gift From God, Star, Hope, Faith, Strength, Truth, Flower...you get the jist of it. Many of us are still working out the pronunciation and spelling, but all in all we're very excited!

After the work day, we came back and listened to a speaker on Lesotho religion and African spirituality, had our daily meeting, then ate supper. We actually had a rather eventful meal time, both during and afterwards...

The local children here have provided us with some stellar reading material as we have begun exchanging letters with them. Their letters have quickly taken a more serious tone, many of them confessing their love for us with the lyrics of popular American hip hop songs. One of tonight's favorite letters concluded with the words, "My heart keeps bleeding, it keeps keeps bleeding in love." Needless to say, it hasn't taken us long to realize these kids may be borrowing material to express their affection...but we'll excuse the plagerism for the sake of a good laugh.

Appropriately, dinner concluded with a disco dance party started by one of the woman kitchen workers...quickly joined by the rest of us.

All are safe and sound, slightly sore, working hard, having lots of fun and enjoying all the new experiences. We all send you smiles across the miles.

Khotso,

Anna and Lindsay

Day Three - May 25, 2009

Hey everyone:

Today we went to Nazareth for our first day of working with Habitat for Humanity. Some of us helped move bricks through a line to different areas in assistance with building a home for orphans. Others laid bricks to construct the walls of the foundation of the home. Students also dug trenches for the foundation of the second home. We were very fortunate to be able to interact with people from the community and Habitat volunteers in order to better understand the Basotho culture.

When we returned to Thorns, some of us played with the kids that we have been getting to know. Many of us have received letters from these kids and are forming friendships with them as well as returning their letters. We also had our nightly discussion in order to better process our environment and to learn more about the culture. We are thoroughly enjoying our time in Lesotho and are looking forward to the rest of the time we have here.

Thank you for giving us a chance to experience this different country. We feel blessed and are gaining a lot through this experience.

Sincerely,

Elyse Ream and Amanda Sweeney

Second Full Day in Lesotho

Dear Family and Friends,

Today was an absolutely amazing day!

After breakfast we had a short Sesotho language lesson by Mapoka, one of the Basotho women working at Thorn's. Then we drove an hour to Morija to meet Steven Gill at the Morija museum and archives. Steven is a teacher who has lived in Lesotho for over 30 years after moving here from Montana. He gave an hour lecture on the history, political structure and current events in Lesotho, and answered any questions we had. We then had another traditional lunch before our beginning our massive hike up the mountain.

After a 45 minute hike that included a photo opp on a rock which we climbed, we reached the goal of our hike, Dinosaur prints! We each were able to pose on the rock with the prints in front of a breath taking view. The view from the summit was incredible!!!

After making our way down the mountain, which was not an easy task, we traveled back to Thorn's where the children were waiting for us. Many of us received personal letters from the children we had met yesterday. The bonds we are making with these children are already beginning to show their importance and strength. Dinner was once again awesome, which capped off another amazing day.

This trip has already exceeded our expectations and we can't wait to begin our projects tomorrow! Until tomorrow....

Khotso

Andrew Steele and Ben Scott

First FULL Day in Lesotho

Hi Everyone!

We spent our first full day in Lesotho today and it was incredible! We woke up early to a wonderful breakfast and the gate to Thorns was full of children waiting to play. After breakfast, we spent an hour playing with the children, including a giant game of ring around the rosy. The children are so much fun to spend time with--they are instant friends and have been great about teaching us sesotho words. They are a joyful, happy group of children and we could hardly pull ourselves away to get any work done. Eventually, we split into two groups, one group sorted playground pieces for the 6 playgrounds we and the 2nd trip will be building in our time here and the second group headed up to the community center we built last year to dig holes for a fence.

After lunch, everyone went back up to the community center for a great afternoon. We continued digging the holes and also worked on digging a pit latrine, making garden beds and painted inside the community center. Half of us worked while the other half played and we rotated so everyone got a chance to work and play. The kids taught us several dancing games, which were a blast. They LOVE getting their pictures taken as well as taking pictures, so our cameras were occupied most of the day. You will all enjoy seeing the pictures we took--they are hilarious! We just had our first "nightly chat" where we talked about the day and asked questions of Scott and Crystal. Then we had another great dinner and everyone is getting ready for a fun night.

We are all having a wonderful time and we are learning new things each minute that passes. This one day has already been worth all the time, money and worry you have expended!!! :) Tomorrow we'll be seeing some Lesothosaurus footprints and we're pretty excited!

Khotso (peace),

Hannah and Laken

DAY ONE in Lesotho

Each day while in Lesotho, one of the students will send a note home to an email list of family and friends. This note will be more widely distributed via blogs, word of mouth, and social networking sites.

Here is the first of the notes:

From: Sarah E. Braden
Sent: Friday, May 22, 2009 3:14 PM
To: wittinafrica2009-1
Subject: DAY ONE in Lesotho

Hello family and friends!

After 18 long hours on a plane, we made it to Johannesburg without any trouble. We then proceeded to our hotel called Road Lodge. There were two of us per room and with ourselves and our luggage there was no walking space, but who cares? we're in Africa!

We ate at Rawhide grille and pub- steak rump, chicken schnitzel, or vegetarian. It hit the spot (plane food? no thanks.) We got a good night's rest, got up by 7 for breakfast and departed for Lesotho at 8:30. With a few stops in between, we arrived at the border of South Africa and Lesotho around 5. An hour and a half later we were at Thorns (our compound, and home for the next month). As we pulled in, about 20-30 kids chased our bus to excitedly greet us. We found our rooms, got settled, and experienced our first meal in Lesotho. It was very good! :-)

Now we are writing and there is a game catch phrase going on in the main house. We are all very impressed with Thorns and excited for the days to come. Tomorrow we will be at the community center and making plans for building some playgrounds. We are sure you are happy to know that we are all safe, sound, and ecstatic to be in AFRICA!!!

You are all loved and missed.

Expect to hear from us soon,

Kristen Sarah and the rest of the Africa 2009ers!

Final word from Jessie ...

Before Jessie got on the plane for Johannesburg, she sent me a text asking that I tell everyone she loves them and asking for their prayers and good wishes as she embarks on this trip.

Here you go... She loves you all. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers while she is in Africa.

Jessie should have arrived in Lesotho. Later today I will post the first of the daily notes about what she and the rest of the Wittenberg students are doing and how they are faring.

And She's Off!

Jessie headed off on the first leg of her trip to Africa this morning. She is flying out of Dayton to Atlanta. She'll have a 3 hour layover there and then will have a L-O-N-G flight to Africa. She should arrive in Johannesburg the afternoon of May 21st, and then they will drive to Lesotho.

Here's a picture of the Wittenberg crowd checking in. The whole process went very smoothly.


Below is a picture of the two kids Jessie will be watching while she's in Lesotho. Josh and Diane are excited about returning to Lesotho. (They might be even more excited about the Thomas, Backyardigans, and Dora surprises their mom packed in their backpacks!)



And here's the whole Wittenberg crew ready to take off. Excited, nervous, and ready to go!

Thank You!!

Thank you everyone for your awesome support for Rose!! She'll be thrilled to know how many people she doesn't even know in America she has touched and who have wanted to help her to achieve her dreams!

I leave in under a week (Tuesday)! And I'm a little nervous of course, but I can't wait!

Much love to everyone!!
~jessie

How Can You Help?

As you are probably aware, I am returning to Lesotho, a very small country in Africa, again this summer. I will be leaving in just under two weeks.

When I returned from my first trip last year, I got to show you some of my pictures and tell you about my trip. Many people asked how they could help and I was at a loss as to what to say. I had so many things I was feeling passionate about after returning from the trip. I've had a year since I've come back from Lesotho and some memories have faded into the back of my mind, but one girl’s loving spirit never has. Her name is Rose (who I am with in the picture).

You may remember her from my story of the girl who selflessly gave me her bracelet without ever asking for anything in return. Rose has remained close to my heart this whole year and now I want to give her something in return. Rose is 14 and is passionate about school and learning. She loves to read and wants to go to college for nursing. However, there is a major roadblock. In Lesotho, the government pays for a child to go through primary school (up to about the equivalent of our seventh grade) but because of costs, secondary school is an impossibility for most Basotho.

Lesotho’s unemployment rate is currently at 45%. Of those who are employed, the average salary is about $90 (USD) per month. School tuition alone costs about $250 (USD) per year. Now add on to that $60 (USD) for the proper shoes, $140 (USD) for the school uniform (which is required by all schools), and $70 (USD) for books. This is a total of $520 (USD) for just one year of secondary school. This figure is a pure impossibility for Rose and her family but my goal is to try to raise this money and repay her pure kindness to me as best I can.

Between money I've put away from working and birthday gifts and some donations I've received, I have already raised almost half the money necessary to send Rose to school, but it remains my goal to be able to pay all of her school bills for the year so that she can afford to live out her dream of continuing her education.

There are three ways which you can help!
1) By donating money to help Rose go to school. To do, this please send a check to
Rose c/o Jessie Voors
5419 Bellmawr Ln.
Fort Wayne, IN 46815
Any amount really does help!
2) By donating items which I will bring to Lesotho and give to orphanages and preschools which have the greatest need for the specific items. There is specific need for…
Boys and Girls underwear, all sizes
Yarn for knitting which the kids are learning as a project over summer break from school.

3) By letting me speak to groups to tell them about my experiences and letting me ask them for these three things I’m am asking you. I have spoken at my church, to groups of children, and at an Indiana-Kentucky conference.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this email! If you have any questions do not hesitate to email me.

~Jessie Voors

Another Trip!

It's been almost a full year since I went to Lesotho for the first time and now I'm excited to say that in under two weeks, I'm going again! This time I will be a chaperone. My job is to baby sit the professor's (our trip leader's) two kids, Josh, 4 and Diane, 2. Because of this I won't be on the work site everyday like I was last trip, but I will get more freedom to be able to follow whatever path I am drawn to on my days off, be that going with the group to the work site or teaching the younger kids at a school like I did last year, or even going to school with my friend, Rose, a 14 year old girl, who, most of you know I am trying to raise the money for her secondary school tuition.

I'm feeling a lot of the same feelings I was last time. I'm stressed that I'll forget something crucial in packing. I'm also worried about feeling homesick (I was very homesick the first few days of the trip last year) but I'll be there with my kids, Josh and Diane, so I'll have them for hugs and laughs and good ole American Children's TV (as a result of last year, I think I can sing every song that has ever been on an episode of Thomas the Tank Engine). Last year this was my medicine when I was feeling my most homesick last year.

This year I have three very specific goals while I'm there...
1 - Get together a group of kids to play the game I learned last year to educate children about HIV/AIDS and the importance of taking Anti Retrovirals. In the game, all the kids surround one child who is wear a shirt that says "Human" and another that says "Immune System". The children on the outside have a ball which represents diseases. The kids on the outside try to throw the ball at the Human but the Immune System blocks it. Then another child comes in wearing a shirt that says "AIDS". This child holds back the Immune System so it can no longer defend the Human. Now another child comes in wearing a shirt that says "Medecine". This person holds the AIDS so they must let go of the Immune System. Again the kids on the outside throw the ball, but again the Immune System can defend the Human.

2 - Spend a day or two with Rose. This is dependent on Rose and her family, but ideally, I would love to stay with Rose for a couple of days, and eat what she eats, sleep where she sleeps, walk with her the hour to school and attend school with her. While I feel like I know academically what it's like to live in Lesotho, I don't know what it's really like, emotionally and physically. Hopefully this experience with Rose will change that.

3- Get more art from the young man I met last year. I bought two peices from him last year and I love them and I would love to get more art of his!

Hopefully I'll post one more time before I leave but if not, I'll be thinking of you all while I'm there! Peace and love!

Kao Fela Rea Tsoana! (We are all the same!)
~jessie