‘Above all watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.’

When I was little Dad used to take me and my sister out on little adventures. “Let’s go on an adventure. I’ll pack a picnic, we’ll get on our bikes and get lost somewhere.” I can remember the childish excitement of those days out. We made houses in the woods, found hidden places and pretended we were detectives. The greatest trips are the unexpected ones. Thomas (Paige and Thomas are the lovely hosts who are looking after us while we are here) will turn up at Tabitha some days and take us somewhere spontaneously. It reminds me of those childhood times when I enjoyed every minute we were out.

This week we went chasing giraffes. We left the jeep parked up and trekked through the long grass in the hot African sun. We got so close to the giraffe, and when it started walking away we tried to follow until eventually it ran off. Or maybe I should say galloped – if you’ve ever seen a giraffe run you will know what I’m talking about. It almost looks like they are gracefully gliding. One night we also drove to the countryside to stargaze. I have never seen such a big sky with so many bright stars. Like thousands of little wishes. It’s those small moments you have to grab onto, they make you feel the most alive.

It’s better to look back on life and say “I can’t believe I did that.” Than to look back and say “I wish I did that.”

There have been so many storms here in the last couple of weeks. And I don’t say storms lightly, I mean; roof-pounding rain, rumbling, window-rattling thunder and flashes of lightning which lit up the whole sky. Unfortunately parts of our roof here at the orphanage are slowly falling in – each time it rains there is a new leak, with any bucket or pan we can find put under it to collect the rainwater. We were woken up at 4am by one of these storms to find the children awake and scared and the rooms flooding despite the roof supposedly having been fixed from the damage the hailstorm did the other week.

That extreme weather can be awe-inspiring and frightening to experience. It has given me a realisation of the power and majesty of God. ‘His voice roar; he thunders with his majestic voice, and he does not restrain the lightnings when his voice is heard. — Job 37:4’.

Watching the HIV+ kids take their medicine every morning and evening is eye opening. To them lining up for medication has become such a regular part of their lives they don’t think twice about it. Seeing as young as 4 year olds swallowing 6 huge pills with one mouthful of water is something you can’t imagine or describe fully until you have seen it. That is one of the most challenging aspects of being here: they don’t even know what they have got they just know they are sick.

‘Fill your life with experiences, not things. Have stories to tell, not stuff to show.’

I still struggle with seeing the contrast between rich and poor here and how segregated they are. I read an article in the newspaper about Kwa-Zulu Natal (the province of South Africa we are living in); 28% of people in KZN (it’s population is about 10 million) are living below the poverty line which is 318 Rand a month (that translates as about £15) and a woman is killed every six hours by her partner. There is no doubt that this is a developing country in desperate need! As Nelson Mandela said “Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice.” We have to be the change we want to see in the world…

But, it’s not all about money. I was reminded this when we took some of the boys to see Paige and Thomas’s son play cricket at a private school. We walked around the huge, ostentatious grounds and the kids were just so content with taking it all in. They looked so much happier than some of the children restrained by their uniforms and rules. ‘Some people are so poor, all they have is money.’

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