How Praise the Lord

(This is a post from last week that I never got to publish!! But it was a great story that I definitely wanted to share...)

For the past week or so, our team has been working on repainting the safe house. However generic it sounds, a new coat of paint really can work wonders. They haven't repainted for several years, and the walls were covered with mold, dirt, and large insects (I have seen more than my fair share of spiders and cockroaches!) Cleaning the walls and painting over them with white primer felt like a cleansing experience. We let the women who live at the safe house choose the colors for the rooms. They really like bright colors, clearly, as the rooms we have completed are vibrant hues of red, blue, and purple. Although we have been pulling long days and the work is tiring, there have been so many moments that make everything feel worth it. On Friday afternoon, we were still at the shelter painting when the children came home from school. Seeing their reactions as they walked into their bright new bedrooms, excitedly pointing out which beds belonged to each of them (several sharing with brothers and sisters), made all of the tiredness we felt fade away.

Seeing the change in the women since we've been working is also remarkable. At first, very few of them showed much interest in participating--although a few helped for an hour or two, they quickly tired and went into the other room to rest. But as they began to see the changes as each room was painted, they began to show more initiative. Soon, they were painting faster than we were! On Tuesday, we had a meeting with our project advisors and some Sizakuyenza staff. We were planning to begin painting as soon as the meeting was over, but the women asked if they could begin while we were gone. We filled their paint trays and gave them a few rollers, and were shocked when we returned to find out that they had finished the entire room we were planning to paint!

The hard work is a lot of fun, too! Aside from simply getting to know the women as we work alongside them, music helps to keep things fun. There have been several impromptu dance parties in the hallway as we move from room to room! Yesterday morning, we were painting with several women. The radio was not playing, but some of the women were singing or humming to themselves as they worked. Th---- began to sing a little louder, and some of the other women sang along. I continued to paint, smiling to myself as I realized that I recognized the tune:
"Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the works Thy hands have made..."

I started singing quietly along with the women as they sang. Vuiyo told Themba to be quiet as she realized that I was singing. I told them how I knew the song, and we continued to sing together. Th----, being one of the more outgoing women, sang loudly
"then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee,
How praise the Lord..."
V---- corrected her loudly: "That's not it! It's How Great Thou Art!" and then proceeded to tell me that I must write out the proper English lyrics for them. I didn't want to correct her though, because it was so happy to be half a world away from home singing the same song and praising the same God that I do in the US.

There are so many ways that I see God here--in the landscape, in the children, in the singing, in the strength and beauty of the women we work with. Sometimes, all I can do is look up and think to myself, "how praise the Lord." :)