Pause

“It’s not only moving that creates new starting points. Sometimes all it takes is a subtle shift in perspective, an opening of the mind, an intentional pause and reset, or a new route to start to see new options and new possibilities.” Kristin Armstrong 

Sometimes it’s those little things that have a huge impact on our perspective of life. Can you think of a time in your life that something small had a huge impact on the way you saw something or viewed something? Sometimes it takes a moment of silence or five minutes of awareness to really let something digest and your whole perspective can shift, opening your mind up. It’s in these small moments and realizations that can open up a whole new world of possibilities!

Throughout our time here in Africa we’ve experienced some huge changes—moving thousands and thousands of miles from home, living in different conditions and adapting to different cultures and norms. Surely these changes have impacted us and created new starting points! We’ve both come to realize how impactful and necessary the quiet moments of intentional pause and reflection are for our growth. The busier we seem to get, the more necessary these moments to reset and slow down seem to be.

We spent a bit of time this week at the CYCC (shelter) that SFCS runs. It was eye opening for us—after we left we knew this was where we had an opportunity to make an impact. We did some reflecting when we were back at the office on how we can best use our skills and resources to help these vulnerable children. Like we’ve mentioned previously, the children at the CYCC are there as a temporary place of care. The goal is to have them in and out of there within six months. Ultimately, they are either reunified with their families or placed in a home where they can thrive. This was an example of an experience where we needed that moment to pause, to say a prayer, to just be silent to understand why we were placed here and what it is that we can do to help. We’re excited to move forward where we’ll be working closely with the staff at the CYCC to help them understand the importance of hygiene and sanitation (thank you E.P.I.C. for helping train us in this department!) as well as working on a curriculum that will help stimulate the children throughout the day.

We challenge you this week to slow down a little and pause. Take a little time each morning or each night to do a little reflecting. Have conversations with others about your day, about what is going on. What have you experienced that has maybe caused a shift in your perspective of life or the way you view things?

With Love,

Ty + Michelle

The exterior of the CYCC in Botshabelo.

Here is a group of some of the young kids that are at the CYCC. They were excited to have visitors come and play!

The outdoor play area. They loved the teeter totter with Ty!

Helping each other :) 

Hungry to learn, Michelle taught them how to count in English--up to 15. They did great!

We loved our time with the kids here at the CYCC and we're looking forward to spending more time with the staff and children during our time here!