TLC SOLDIERS

Alanna Aughenbaugh

Alanna left University in America, to come to South Africa.  She arrived at TLC on the 1^st October, last year.  She came for six months and is leaving again on the 31^st March.  She has really been a volunteer that offered the babies her own, very special brand of TLC.    Alanna is a lovely young lady.  So gentle, especially with the Lions (toddlers) which is where I have seen her most.  In her normal life, she loves reading, socialising, swimming and playing soccer!   When she leaves TLC she will continue with some kind of ministry work and will probably go on another mission trip of some sort.

Ann Vivier

Ann is one of the very few French volunteers that TLC has had.  I think I can count the French volunteers who have crossed our threshold on one hand.  Ann is a returning volunteer and is an incredibly special young lady.  She finished her Master’s degree in Geography and spent some time travelling before she returned to TLC to become our Volunteer Manager.    She really does an incredible job.  I have never heard her whine or complain and she is always prepared to go that extra mile for a volunteer that needs it; the babies or even the Jarvis family.  Anne loves reading, socialising and spending time with friends, photography (she is a GREAT photographer!) and she loves trekking around the country.  I think she has seen more of South Africa than I have!  And she loves listening to music.  Ann says she is not planning on leaving anytime soon.  She loves TLC too much and really wants to stay on and help us for as long as she can.

Ellie Neubert

Ellie joined us from Germany and is staying for a whole year.  She came here directly after leaving school!  What a wonderful sacrifice for a young person to make.  I am really in awe of girls like that.  Ellie joined us in September, 2010 and will be leaving in August.  Before she came to TLC her life consisted of lots of family time, socialising with friends, taking long walks and volunteer work.  When she has finished her course with us in August, she will be starting university and will be studying Social Work.

Felizitas Brinkmann

Felizitas joined us in August last year.  She came from Germany.  She will be staying with us for 9 months, returning home in June.  Felizitas is the niece of a good friend of mine so I had full confidence in her abilities from the start because she came so highly recommended.  She came to TLC directly after leaving school and has really turned out to be an incredible trouper here at TLC.  In Felizitas’ ‘normal’ life before she came to TLC she was very fond of sports, handball being her favourite.  She loves to read when she has the time and she is very sociable, enjoying time out and having fun with friends.  When Felizitas is finished at TLC, she will be returning home to start university to study Social Work.

Francisca Chengula

Francisca has been with TLC since November.  She came to Africa straight after finishing school and then spent some months working in Tanzania before coming to TLC.  Francisca is also from Germany.  She is a lovely, fun-loving girl with a great heart for children and keen volunteering spirit.   I have never heard about her complaining or feeling sorry for herself.  She has a great smile that captivates everybody here at TLC.   When she is at home and in her every-day life, Francisca loves sports such as playing tennis and basketball.  She is  fond of playing the piano and singing.  She also enjoys reading and travelling.  When Francisca has finished her term here at TLC, she hopes to study Tourism.  And of course, Francisca has a special place in my heart, because one of my names is also Francisca.  You find many Francesca’s in this world, but I have never met another Francisca!  J

Joshua Aughenbaugh

Joshua joined TLC in October of last year.  What a special young man we have here!  He came from America and arrived at TLC with his cousin, Alanna Aughenbaugh.  Joshua is a really tender hearted, Jesus kind of person who really cares deeply for the babies and children.  He has the true heart of a volunteer and will never pull his nose up at any job that requires his energy.  Joshua loves to play the guitar.  He enjoys reading, rock climbing and having fun, just chilling with good friends.  Like me, Joshua doesn’t believe in running ahead of God.  So for now he has no idea what God has in store for him when he returns home to America.  Surely, we will all miss him and the time is coming close since he will be leaving in March.  Just around the corner!   L

Kaila Sweet

Kaila’s surname says it all!  SWEET!   She  is a lovely girl who really has a servant heart and always has a big smile on her face.  Kaila is also American and is a friend of Joshua and Alanna.  She also came to TLC for 6 months and will be leaving at the end of March.  Kayla’s scrapbooking talents have been a great asset in the making of our memory books beautiful and special for our little babies who are soon to go out for adoption.  She also loves photography, sewing, quilting and hanging out, having fun with friends.  Some of the jobs Kaila has done before she came to TLC were being a nanny, working in an elevator and painting a house!  My kind of girl.  She is also simply following the lead of the Lord and will wait until she gets home before she decides what she will do with her life after TLC.

Keshia Bedard

This is the second time that Keshia has volunteered at TLC.  This time she came for a full year and has been an incredible blessing.  She arrived in May 2010 and will finish off here at TLC in May, 2011.  Keshia has been responsible for the more ‘senior’ jobs such as taking care of the newborns and distributing medicines to all the children at TLC which is a huge and very important daily task.  Keshia is half German and half American.  She has a big heart and really loves the children passionately.  Before coming to TLC she studied biology and was an English teacher.  She loves reading, watching movies, but mostly she just loves hanging out with her friends and having some fun.  Keshia’s dearest wish is  to stay in South Africa and to continue doing something valuable and fulfilling, probably to do with children.

Laura Ramm

Laura came to TLC straight after finishing school.  She arrived here in August and left on the 18^th of February.  Unfortunately she has aleady gone home to go to university and study social work.  She takes with her all our love and best wishes for the future!  Thank you for all your love, Laura!

 Maria Hoffmann

Maria joined us in October last year and she will be with us until April of this year.  Maria is really one of our Star volunteers.  She is amazing and I have never heard a single complaint from her about anything.  I think she is an angel, inside and out!  In Maria’s normal life she loves reading.  She enjoys going to the Theatre.  Cooking is one of her favourite pastimes and she also takes great pleasure in nature walks and taking time out to relax and have fun with friends.  Before Maria came to TLC, she worked as a social worker for disabled and special needs children.   When she goes home, she will start her Master’s degree in Social Studies.

Mathilde Lund

I was supposed to have done this blog about two weeks ago.  Unfortunately busyness kept me from this job and then I got bronchial pneumonia which left me in bed for about a week.  So I have unfortunately also missed the boat with Mathilde who was with us for 5 months.  She came in September 2010 and left in February, 2011.  She was our Danish volunteer and was very well loved around here.   We send her all our love and good wishes for the future.  She has gone home to start working so that she can save to go to university and study psychology.  She is a very special girl and I know that she will make a great success in anything she sets her mind to.  Good luck, Mathilde!

 Sandra Niggemann

Sandra, like Mathilde above, unfortunately left before I managed to finish this post.  Sandra was a great volunteer from Germany as well.  We have really had our fair share of German volunteers this year.  We do sometimes have imbalances in the numbers of different nationalities, but this year it has been unbelievable!  Understandably, this sometimes leads to tension amongst volunteers, but it really hasn’t been too bad this year.   Sandra arrived at TLC in August and went home on the 18^th February.  We are so thankful for all the hard work Sandra put in here with our babies.  She was a true warrior for our cause and always stepped up to the plate when extra hours or energy were required.  Thank you so much, Sandra.  We wish you well as you start university and we know that you can be assured of success in your course of Social Studies as you really do have a heart for the betterment of humanity.  God bless you!

Sue Platt

Sue has been a returning volunteer for the past several years.  She is a true volunteer and an incredible trouper!   She is a Main House volunteer meaning that she helps with the children of the Jarvis family.  In this case she takes care of Pippa’s non-school going children.  There are 7 of these, so it is really a big job.  One scarcely knows where to start to describe the work and life of this wonderful lady.  She came to TLC, leaving her job as a Deputy Manager of a nursery school in England.  In her spare time she loves reading, doing embroidery, building jig-saw puzzles and taking walks.  She loves going out with friends, relaxing and having a good time.  She really enjoys the outdoors.  She is also due to go home to “retire” in March.  She intends doing talks on behalf of TLC, raising awareness and encouraging prospective volunteers.  We have no idea how we are going to manage without our beloved Teacher Sue!  But she will always remain in our hearts which of full of deep gratitude for the magnificent effort she has put into TLC over the years.

Tamara Stojanovic

Tamara joined TLC in November, 2010.  She came here straight after finishing school and has really managed well considering her youth.  She will be going home again in April, 2011.  She is a wonderful, gentle young lady who is deeply loved by all the babies.  She loves Volleyball and Yoga.  She enjoys reading when she has time and always looks forward to spending time with friends, going out and having a good time.

Tom Callaghan

Tom is a fine young man.  Always polite and respectful.  He is a former St. Bede’s student.  St. Bede’s is  a school in England that has supported us for many years and we have enjoyed receiving many of their boys and girls who have come as really magnificent volunteers.  It speaks volumes about the kind of education St. Bede’s offers to its students.  We always feel that a healthy complement of boys added to our volunteer programme really helps to keep the girls in check! J  Somehow when there is only a bunch of girls with no lads, one finds a lot more hen-pecking going on.   At the moment we have several boys and the atmosphere created by their mere presence in the nursery can definitely be felt.

Tom joined us in October, 2010 and will, sadly, be leaving us in March.  When he is at home, he loves playing football, swimming, going to the cinema and visiting museums.  He is also a very sociable young man and enjoys going out with friends and having a good time.  He will be going to University to study psychology.

Sarah McGrath

Sarah is one of the cutest and sweetest little girls who has ever graced the nurseries of TLC.  She is a quiet little person.  Never gets involved in the controversies that sometimes beset TLC.  She just loves the children ... ALLL the children ...  not only the babies and the nursery children, but also the big children.  Every single child here absolutely adores Sarah and she is truly an adorable little person.  Sarah is also a returning volunteer.  This time she is only here for three months.  She arrived in December and will be returning home in March.  She loves singing, writing and painting.  She also enjoys reading.  She loves the outdoors and enjoys going out and spending time with friends and having a good time.  Before Sarah came to TLC she was a Nanny.  She is not quite sure what she will be doing when she returns home in March.

Cheyne Whitney

Cheyne has only been here for a very short time.  She arrived in January and will be returning home in July.  Now here is a really sweet and special young lady!   She is just too dear for words!  She is so great in the nursery.  Gentle, sweet and kind to the babies and never whining or complaining about her lot.  She gets on with every job like a real little soldier!  She came to TLC straight after finishing high school.  We know how hard it is for young people like this ... it is such a culture shock, coming to South Africa and having to cope with long hours of hard work.  But Cheyne is simply taking it all in her stride.  When she is at home and having a normal life, Cheyne enjoys art.   Painting and designing.  She enjoys reading.  She loves the outdoors and of course, being a normal young girl she loves to go out and hanging out with her friends and having a good time.

 Sarah Murray

Sarah Murray has also returned home already,  She was with us for 6 months and really did herself proud.  She was a graduate in Psychology and now that she has returned home she intends going to the USA to work as a nanny and earn some money so that she can return to TLC for another stint with her beloved babies!  We miss you Sarah and thank you for all the hard work you put into the babies, and much more besides.  Take good care of yourself and we wish you all the best!

George Wagg

George!   "Georgy Porgy, pudding and pie!  Kissed the girls and made them cry!"    J  Do you know when George walked in the door here at TLC, nearly every girl in the place almost fainted!  LOL!  But he took it all in his stride.  Never let it go to his head.  And now he is “just one of us”.  He is a great fellow with a huge heart and a super sense of humour.  The kids adore him and he is really excellent with any age-group.  Back home he loved to play rugby and this makes him a great friend of my son, Joshua, who shares that same passion.  He also enjoys tennis, cricket and it seems like he just loves sports in general.  He very much enjoys going out and having a good time with friends and it sounds to me like he is often the life and soul of the party!  Back in England he was the manager of a restaurant!  Imagine!  And now he is changing nappies.  That’s a good indication of the kind of Dad he is going to be one day.  At university he studied Physical Science and Geography.  When he is finished here at TLC, he would like to go into Environmental Construction (which is interesting because that is also the career that Joshua (Jarvis) is leaning towards.

Michael Rogers

Michael is from the UK and is back at TLC for his second stint.    This time he has come for 6 months.  He arrived in January and will be going home in July.  We are so grateful to have him as he has already proved himself to be a great volunteer.  At home Michael is a student in Journalism and English Literature and also worked as a Camp Counsellor in the USA.  At this point in time, Michael is still in the planning stages of his future and he is not really sure what he will be doing when he goes home in July.  Michael is involved in his church and enjoys church activities.  He is fond of reading, enjoys tennis and really enjoys travelling.

Helen Ennis

Helen has joined us from her homeland, New Zealand.  She arrived in January and will be with us for a WHOLE YEAR only going home in December.  She had a bumpy start, health wise, (which is why she preferred not to put up a photo) but now she is settling down well and seems to be very happy looking after the babies.  I always spot her walking around with a baby in her arms and a big smile on her face.  Helen loves outdoor sports, trekking and climbing.  She is also fond of reading.  At home Helen works in the family business.  I am sure they are missing her terribly and it will be quite a while before she is home again!

Roswitha

Roswitha joined us as a very special, Mature Volunteer.  She came for 4 months.  Arriving in December, she will be going home in April.  Roswitha came as a retired nurse.  She loves swimming, cycling, reading, knitting and crafts, as all good Austrians do!  J  Roswitha is really in love with the babies and manages to stay the distance every day.  Volunteers like Roswitha are asked to stay at a nearby Bed and Breakfast so that they can come and go as they please and operate as casual local volunteers.  If they hit a day where they can’t manage it does not affect our normal volunteer schedule and they can take days of as they see fit.  If you are reading this and think this might be an option for you, you can write to Sue at applications@tlc.org.za for further details.  You can also visit Misty River’s Website, http://www.mistyriver.co.za/.  The owners of Misty River are always kind enough to give our volunteers special rates and I have never yet had a complaint concerning the service provided by the Misty River Bed and Breakfast.

Caytie Davis

Caytie arrived in February with her friend, Katie Carroll.  She is a very quiet but confident young lady.  Caytie is spending 4 months at TLC and is already doing a really great job.  Before coming to TLC she worked as a nanny to save money for her trip.  At home she likes to read and plays soccer.  She is very interested in American football and enjoys most sports.  She plays the violin and one of her interests is refinishing wood furniture.  Caytie doesn’t really have an inclination what she would like to do when she is finished her time here at TLC.

Katie Carroll

Katie, like I said, came to TLC with Caytie.  The two of them seem to be very close.  They both arrived on 1^st February and will be returning home in June, 2011.  Katie is also rather shy at this point, but I am sure as soon as more new volunteers arrive they will feel more comfortable.  Katie likes reading.  She enjoys volleyball and the outdoors.  She enjoys knitting, doing crafts and journaling.  When she was still at home, Katie did odd jobs and worked as a nanny to save for her trip to TLC.  When she is finished with her volunteering at TLC, she thinks she might considering saving again to do a similar trip.

Adam Tollit

Adam arrived at the beginning of the month.  He is another past pupil of St. Bede’s.  A very nice young man.  He will be staying at TLC for three months.  Adam likes listening to music and enjoys reading, playing snooker, football and cricket.  He also enjoys walking and climbing.  Adam enjoys going out and having fund with friends.  Adam saved money to get to TLC by working at Tesco’s (a Supermarket).  When he is finished at TLC Adam is going home to study Medicine at University.

Then last but not least we have the most amazing volunteer couple whose energy, capacity and generosity of heart is second to none.  I am speaking of course, about Heidi and Christian.  From October last year, when I first heard that Kieran would no longer be able to attend public school due to his heart problem, I started worrying and praying fervently for help regarding Kieran's homeschooling.  I made adverts, job descriptions and dozens of phone calls looking for a solution. 

Christian and Heidi were already here at TLC before school started and I never twigged that they were the perfect solution I was looking for.  They really do understand TLC and all our needs and emergencies.  They are always ready and on standby to step in and come to the rescue.

Benjamin, Heidi and Kieran proud of their boat-making abilities!

It turned out that it was not only Kieran who needed homeschooling but Benjamin as well because the school we were advised to enrol him into, was simply much to expensive.  Then I discovered that Heidi is a TEACHER!  And together with Christian they then came to the rescue, not only regarding the morning homeschooling lessons, but they also took charge of the homework in the afternoons, which is simply unbelievable!  God is really awesome!  Of course, they will also be going home in March but it is clear that God is already making a way for that problem.  A young gentleman called Nicholas, will be taking over Christian and Heidi's duties when they leave, and hopefully George will be able to fill in the other gap that will be left.

Christian and Kieran very happy with their raft!

I don't think I will ever be able to thank Heidi  and Christian enough for all they have done for TLC.  But I hope that the know that this is not a "One man show".  That I could not manage a single thing  without the incredible energy that all these amazing volunteers perform every single day.  Their investment will materialise one day, in a form that they will recognise and the value that they have added to these lives will one day manifest to gladden all our hearts.
 I am hoping that from now on I will be able to keep up to date, at least with the arrivals and departures of the volunteers so that everybody can be kept up to date.  I would like to do it for the babies also.

God bless you all,
All my love,
THEA

Jessica MacKenzie

Jessica has joined us from England.   She has come for six months and will leave us again in June.  Jessica is a calm and quiet young lady.   She really seems to be enjoying her work with the little ones and is very gentle in her ways, which is very good for them, especially the very small babies.  Before coming to TLC, she was a secretary at the university.   When Jessica was at home she enjoyed dancing, shapping, reading and going for long walks.   She is not 100%  sure what she will be doing when she is finished here at TLC.  She says she is going to play it by ear, to see what turns up.  Wise girl!