Dear Ithemba,
Really all I can say is thank you.
Thank you for teaching me about love. Thank you for showing me what joy looks like. Thank you for changing my heart, for moving me in the deepest of ways.
To the teachers, you taught me more than just the shapes and days of the week in Afrikaans. You taught me about laughter. You taught me patience. You showed me how important it is to love a child while they’re so young. You loved my team and I in a way we’ve never experienced before. You gave us hope and smiles on even the hardest days.
Mieta, my second mommy. Thank you for telling me so much of your testimony and loving the 3 year olds so well. Thank you for holding me the day I was grieving something hard in your classroom. Natasha, your laugh and your dance moves brought endless joy to my days. Kelly, spending your first months as a teacher with you was so special. Making name tags for the kids and hearing about your life is something I’ll cherish forever. And this is only three out of many teachers that have impacted me greatly.
To the kitchen staff, some of the strongest women I have ever met with the biggest hearts I have ever seen. I will never forget all of the giggles and joy every morning as we come through the kitchen to hug you and tell you to have the best day. I will cherish the memories of trying new South African foods you’ve made. I remember the first day walking into that kitchen, I felt so intimidated in such a new
place. Now I walk in, dancing and laughing and hugging my many new mothers and sisters and friends.
To the children. Oh my sweet beautiful children. You have touched the deepest part of my heart. The part that brings tears to my eyes when I think of you and the love I have for you, but mostly the love He has for you. Thank you for seeing me on my hard days. For snuggling in my lap and giving me the biggest hugs. The Jesus in you always knew when that was just what I needed. Thank you for showing me how to be childlike again. Who knew my spiritual maturity would grow the most when I was brought back to the simplicity of being a kid. My sweet children, I pray blessings over your lives. That you keep believing you are more than capable and worthy of learning and growing and discovering. Leaving you makes my heart ache, yet I am so excited for you. The Lord is holding you in His hands, keeping you close and leading you forward to the rest of your life.
I’ll miss so many things about this special place. Dancing fridays when we all worshipped the Lord together. Birthdays when you kids got to eat cake with your bare hands with your faces covered in icing and beaming with smiles. I’ll miss recess where I walk up and you come running to hug me then you all beg to play with my hair in a matter of minutes. I will miss praying with you before every meal.
But my favorite moments are the ones that you realized you are capable and strong. I remember the day you were in tears because you just couldn’t understand how to write your name. I also remember when you ran up to me on the playground, ecstatic to tell me you had finally learned how to do it. My little girl, I will never forget the first day you ever talked in class after a month of silence. My sweet boy, you know the day you got so frustrated when you couldn’t write the number 2? We sat together and took turns writing it, and the moment you finally did it we got so excited, fist bumped, and you finished your worksheet all by yourself.
Ithemba is a place of hope. Raising up children as beacons in Jeffrey’s Bay. Children that are more than worthy of all challenges and triumphs.
School is a place to learn, yet I found myself learning more than just some Afrikaans phrases. With each meal I served, every bowl of porridge and rice I got to hand to a child I learned about gratitude. Every recess we got to laugh and play I learned about joy. The colors and shapes and days of the week we learned together taught me how education truly is a gift and convicted me of how much I took it for granted.
So here I sit. Moving on to the next chapter of these 9 months. I will never forget you Ithemba, you touched my heart more than any words I could ever write will be able to explain.
Bye for now,
MG
