Greetings from Ann.
I am writing on the bus as we head to the North. The ride is a bit bumpy. But on this first part of the drive
we’ve had a few hours to stare off into the bush and the seemingly endless sky,
and for me this time is an opportunity to collect my thoughts about what we’ve
seen and witnessed so far.
Yesterday was an emotionally power-packed day at the School
for Visually Impaired Children.
Our contact there is Mrs. Marilise Fransman. She is a South African colored woman who is married to a
Namibian man and she has been the principal of the School for 21 years. (Here in Africa, by the way, “colored”
is a perfectly acceptable term for being mixed race.)
Marilise Fransman is a force to be reckoned with. She has built the School incredibly
over the years and it is clear she is proud of her achievements – as she should
be -- but the needs are great as she is quick to point out to us.
As our group delivered our gift of Braille books and moved
along on the tour of the school, I had a chance to visit with her about her
efforts. The school serves
learners who are blind, partially sighted, and fully sighted but who have other
disabilities. She explained to me
that she turns no child away.
She has children who come to the school because they can attend no where
else, or because they do not feel comfortable learning any where else – they
may be emotionally challenged, disfigured by disease, or have been disowned by
their families due to customs; customs which we cannot understand and which I
surely cannot write about here.
It took everything I had to keep my composure.
I asked about her strength. She said “when I was a very little girl, I complained to my
mother about my shoes. My mother
taught me the error of my ways by taking me to meet a child who had no
feet.”
Our conversation continued and I learned more about
Marilise’s remarkable mother, and her family, and her dedication, which is
unswerving, to these learners and this School.
A bit later we slipped into a classroom where Amanda was
teaching the learners (blind and partially sighted together) Afrikaans, the
primary language, along with English, of Namibia. Marilise was by my side. She quickly saw Simon, a 16-year old learner who was
distracted and wiggling in his chair.
She called him out and teased him for being naughty. Simon blushed and put his head
down into his book and dared not look up.
She then gave him some verbal loving and said “you, my dear Simon Peter,
you are always this way but I love you so!” Not missing my opportunity I said to him “your name is
Simon Peter, you know . . . it is upon you that Christ built his church.” He beamed and Marilise exclaimed “see
Simon Peter what I have been saying all along? This guest today also knows this!”
I knew in that moment that Marilise and I had clicked and I
do hope we will be friends moving forward. We walked and talked a bit more about faith, and life,
and hope. We will look forward to
being in partnership with Marilise Fransman and this special school in any way
we can.
Thank you all for your comments, your e-mails, and your
prayers for our journey. We
know you travel with us.
Ann
Ann,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post! It made me smile to know that you are still inspiring others and being inspired with strength-based discussions! :)
I am keeping you all in my thoughts as you continue what is left of your journey.
Lindsey