When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Too bad I'm not 'the tough.' It's also unfortunate that I'm surrounded by the tough, who truly do get going (and not in a good way) when things get tough. To put it mildly, the kids can be very hardened... the staff can be very hardened. This has been one of my greatest struggles here. Another one of my huge struggles is realizing that, in a 1st world-3rd world country (this is how I refer to South Africa), something like AIDS doesn't just pop up out of no where... smack dab in the middle of a happy home. Here, AIDS is usually tied to poverty, which is often tied to hate, abuse, and so many other deep-rooted issues. I recently had a conversation that went something like this:

"no one could possibly understand the depth of this destruction
satan has his hold...
and the roots go far too deep
not too deep for God
but i have no idea where to start digging."

This is a poor attempt to explain my loss for words lately. When I, myself, am able to wrap my mind around all of this... You'll be the first to know. (It may be a while.)