The third day in Johannesburg we had scheduled an afternoon tour of Soweto.  After lunch our tour guide (named Mandy) picked us up at our hotel and drove us out of Sandton.  On the way out of town Zach asked if she had ever been to the LDS temple in Johannesburg.  Mandy had never been and offered to take us.  So we made a brief stop to the Johannesburg temple!

It had gorgeous grounds and a beautiful view of the city.  After walking around for a bit we all climbed back into Mandy’s car and drove into Soweto.  I don’t know all the details about this township, but Mandy did tell us a little background information.  She told us how in the 50’s the Dutch wanted to make Johannesburg an “all white city” and made it illegal for black people to live there.  If any black person was caught in Johannesburg they would be arrested (minimum 1 year jail sentence) on sight.  So all the black people were forced out of the city and into the township Soweto that was “created” for them.  There were over 4 million people.  The health care in this place was horrible (only one hospital for that many people), very few fire stations, horrible schools, and four swimming pools (that’s one million people per swimming pool).  Mandy told us that in Soweto there wasn’t a real middle class.  You either had money, or you were very, very poor.  She took us around some nicer neighborhoods in the township and then stopped at a market in Freedom Square.  She told us we were going to Kliptown, the poorest suburb in Soweto, and she wanted us to bring the children some fruit.  We visited the monument in Freedom Square and then bought 50 ran worth of bananas, peaches, and apples.

Then she drove us to Kliptown.  I thought she might drive us to the outside of the suburb and then we could give the food to those who needed it, but I was wrong.  She drove us right into the the center of the the little chanty town.  It was incredibly overwhelming.  Not only was it heartbreaking but we all felt very unsafe.  Almost to the point where none of us wanted to get out of the car.  But Mandy wasn’t having it and made us all get out of the car and meet the people.

I can’t speak for anyone else, but this experience is something that I will never EVER forget.  From the second I got out of that car I felt different.  I have been in a few third world countries before, but have never walked along side the people.  The first feelings I had were of pure guilt.  I felt like they all thought we were making a mockery of them.  I could even imagine what they were thinking.  “Look at these fancy Americans…walking around in their clean clothes and their smart phones taking pictures of my friends and family.”  I thought they would want us out – or even yell at us to leave them alone.  It was quite the opposite, however.  First, Mandy took us into a single mother’s home.  Her name was Julia and she welcomed us in like we were her closest friends.  The first thing I noticed was the heat.  It must have been over 90 degrees inside, probably due to the metal roof.  Her home was very small, but very clean.  The floor was dirt but she had laid scraps of wood and metal down to create a floor.  On her walls she had hung photos of her friends and family and had decorated where the roof met the walls with scraps of wood painted in a bright blue color.  She told us she had been living in Kiptown for 15 years.  Then we walked around through the alley ways between the homes.  Children were running around and playing barefoot.  Teenage girls toting around sweet babies in filthy clothes.  Kids sitting on wooden crates and buckets playing card games.  We made our way back to Mandy’s car and she opened up the trunk so Zach could hand out the fruit to the children.

People started gathering around the car and reaching for the fruit.  Something else that really shocked me was what Mandy did.  She pulled out two big black garbage sacks full of clothes and started to hand them out to the women.  All on her own, she had brought skirts, blouses, and sandals.  Soon the fruit and clothes were all gone and we had to leave.  The children were so happy.  They all waved good bye as we left their little neighborhood.  I almost started to cry right then and there, but didn’t want anyone else to see me react that way.  I didn’t want these people to think that I pitied them.  They were some of the sweetest and happiest people I had ever met.  Then Mandy drove us to a local orphanage.  We entered the gated facility and checked in.  She walked us right into the children’s quarters.

The older children were taking naps in their beds and the younger toddlers and babies were in their cribs.  I can’t really explain it.  I have been telling Zach for years that I am not a normal woman.  I am missing a chip inside me.  I call it the “mom chip”.  I have always known I was going to be a mom.  I just have never ached to be pregnant.  I have never been baby hungry.  I have heard my friends and family members say “I am so baby hungry” or “I am just dying to have a baby”.  Not me!  I am a mutant or something.  Some may think it is selfish, and say that I have chosen my education and career over a family, but that’s not true.  I just haven’t been ready for children of my own.  We haven’t been ready.  But as I was standing there in that room with all those babies staring at me I thought my ovaries might explode!

Some of them were standing up in their cribs reaching for us.  Two were staring up at us from the floor.  Mandy translated and told us that this tiny babe had been abandoned at the orphanage gate at two weeks old.  No information whatsoever.

Then one of the volunteers placed another baby boy in Zach’s arms.

He passed him to me and I held him for a while until I saw the others looking over.  I walked over to the sweetest baby girl in her crib.  She wouldn’t stop staring and smiling at me.

I felt “baby hungry”.  If it would have been possible, I would have scooped her up and taken her with me.  One little boy came walking up to Mark and nearly climbed up him.  Mark picked him up and he wrapped his little arms around his neck.

That’s when I almost lost it.  Mark said, “He knows I have grand babies just like him at home.”  That little guy would not let Mark go.  Even to the point of running after us as we walked out the door.  Outside some of the older boys were running around in a field.  Zach found a soccer ball near some trees and started a little game.  He called out, “who wants to be on my team?”  They all started raising their hands and jumping up and down.

He played with them for quite a while until it was time for us to leave.  Mark and Jeanene had explained to Mandy that we had three adopted children in our family that were their grand babies.  Mandy explained how complicated it was to adopt an orphaned child in Africa; the process people had to go through and all the “red tape” it required.  She explained that women in Africa were given 200 R (about $20) for having a baby in South Africa.  Since some members of the country are so poor, teenage girls have babies and abandon them just for the money.  My sister-in-law had told me several times to bring her home a baby.  If only it had been that easy, I would have brought one home to live with us as well.  We left the orphanage and made a few more stops before Mandy took us back to our hotel.  We saw Nelson Mandela’s house that he lived in when he was arrested.

We saw the Hector Peiterson Museum and Memorial.  We also saw Bishop Tutu’s home.  We even came across a Zulu man…who looked identical to Eddie Murphy?

Mandy drove us back to our hotel and we thanked her for the amazing experience.  I held it together the entire day until we were alone in our hotel room.  While showering I completely lost it and started to cry uncontrollably.  I couldn’t shake the feelings I had and have thought about those kids every single day since we visited Soweto.

Later that night after we had all cleaned up we went to dinner at a Greek restaurant in Mandela Square.

We wandering around the mall afterwards and found a movie theater, where we decided to catch a last minute movie.  The theater was one of the nicest theaters I had ever been in.  The seats were like recliners!  So soft and comfortable.  The only thing that was unique was that they don’t put butter on their popcorn.  This didn’t stop Zach from getting a giant bucket of it, however.