May

It is my belief that the light shines brightest in the darkness. In the darkness, light has its chance to come through and really make an impact on the dark that surrounds it. No matter how dark a room may be, if you light a match, the light will shine bright regardless of the darkness that encircles it. I have found this week to be one that really depicts that.
Monday nights are a productively busy time for the Methodist Church and the Prince household. In the church, an Ubuntu team meets to plan what promises to be a remarkable ‘Community Festival’ in September. Just 10 yards away, in the house, Ocean View’s women gather for their regular support group meeting meant to be a safe haven for the women of the community to share their ever-prevalent problems with domestic abuse. As we do live in South Africa (a British colony), tea is an essential component of any successful meeting. Obviously wanting this meeting to be a success, water was set to boil in the kettle as the women greeted each other with love. The water having finally boiled at an incredible temperature, a first cup was poured and left, unintentionally and temporarily, unattended. Being age appropriate, beautiful little Kieren saw the tempting cup sitting on the edge of the counter. After smiling at Kyle, one of our favorite boys who was watching Kieren that night, the 16th month old baby proceeded to make one of her short life’s biggest mistakes. Reaching up, Kieren grabbed the cup, pouring the boiling hot water on her face, neck, chest, and shoulders. As all would, she began to cry furiously as terrible pain took over her fat little body as the skin quickly melted off. After being dipped in cold water (which is what you must know to do when a burn occurs), Kieren was immediately rushed over to the nearest hospital. After taking the necessary steps to prevent the burn from worsening, an ambulance took Kieren and her distraught parents over to Red Cross Children’s Hospital. She was then placed in the ward for children who have suffered severe burns and was given proper treatment to lessen the pain and prevent infection.
This all happened Monday night. As of Friday, Kieren is still being taken care of in the hospital. Today (Thursday) was a great day for her, as Sarah told me. It was the first time she smiled and began acting so that we could recognize that Kieren’s awesome personality was still there. Though she has lost her voice from the crying caused by the agonizing pain, it’s a huge cause for happiness to see that this baby that I, and everyone, love so much, is now regaining her personality. I first visited her on Tuesday. She was asleep thanks to the many drugs she’d been given for the pain. As Casey says, she looks like the Bionic Woman, having all her neck, parts of her face, and half of her chest and belly looking completely raw. She had a successful surgery on Wednesday and has been doing a lot better ever since. I spent time with her on Thursday, and although she looks like a mummy after being completely bandaged from her waist up with the exception of her eyes and mouth, it was such relief/happiness to see my baby being herself again.
If you don’t know Kieren, well then your life is that much worse. Not only is she the most beautiful baby in all of Africa, she’s also the funniest, flirtiest, most persuasive, most stubborn baby in the continent, and perhaps the world. She is charming like you know you should wish she wasn’t. Feeling bad about some of the other babies in her community which often don’t get to eat, Kieren takes no chances with food, eating what seems like everything. This has developed into a belly which seems to be a whole being on its own. We didn’t understand why her belly had to be so big, but thank God for that, not joking, because if her giant belly hadn’t been there, the boiling hot water would have also fallen on her adorably fat legs.
According to the doctors at the country’s most prestigious hospital for burns, Kieren will recover with no real problems and should develop little to no scarring. Casey and Sarah are both exhausted, physically and emotionally, having had to sleep on the floor of the waiting room for most of the past 4 nights. They’ve had a few heated discussions with some of the hospital staff and haven’t eaten a ‘real’ meal since Monday. On top of that, the incredible work that God is doing through them in Ocean View has gone through an atypical week.
As dark as the whole situation is, God’s light is shinning brighter than ever. The discussions with the hospital staff have happened because the ward has been invaded with visitors for the o so many people that love the Princes. Their work in Ocean View has gone through an atypical week because the regular meetings have been extended to fit in the amazing amount of prayer that everyone has been doing. All sorts of people have extended their love and support by bringing incredible amounts of food over, constantly asking me for updates (I’ve been staying at their house during their absence), and travelling close to an hour to make sure that the Princes know that they are loved. This is what the Church should look like. This is what it means to show love as Jesus would. It has been an enduring week. But faithful as he is, our Father has heard our prayers and turned the enemy’s evil doings into something full of love and of life. I am so grateful to our Father for hearing our prayers and for showing me how He moves through people to comfort His faithful children that He loves so much. I believe God has made something great for His Kingdom out of this dark situation. No matter how dark it may be, His light will always shine bright.
Also on Thursday, two new volunteers arrived to work with Ubuntu. One of them was supposed to arrive on Monday night, a couple hours after the incident. Due to the Icelandic volcano ash cloud and a technical problem on the plane, he wasn’t able to get here until today. Praise and thanks be to God for using the ash cloud to prevent him (Ben) from getting here in the worst of timing.
Please continue to pray for the World Cup and everything that comes with it. My excitement is unexplainable, but at the same time, too many problems come attached to be able to fully enjoy it. As I mentioned the past blog, human trafficking is a huge problem and PROSTITUTION WILL BE LEGAL FOR THE 30 DAYS OF THE WORLD CUP! The politics in this country are beyond complaint and the president is quite literally a disgrace. He’s just had his 20th child and is about to marry his 6th wife. No divorce; polygamy. O and when being investigated on sex charges before being president, he was asked how he knew he hadn’t contracted AIDS after having sex with an unknown woman. His response, in all seriousness, was that he knew he didn’t have AIDS because he showered after the act. Yes, this is the president. And yes, I suppose this IS Africa. But still.
Please pray for Kieren’s healing, and just as much for Casey and Sarah as they go through this physically and emotionally strenuous week. Please pray that they will continue to see just how much He loves us.
I pray that you are well in your work, with your families, with your studies, and in your relationship with our heavenly Father.
My love and gratefulness goes out to you.

Andy