Eye-opening community work

Yesterday was our first day working in the townships. As "normal" as it felt to be on a university campus over the past two weeks, yesterday felt all but normal. My group spent a few hours in an orphanage, playing with kids 4 and under, swinging them, helping feed them, hearing thier heart-breaking stories. We were only with them for about two hours and that time was full of mixed emotion. You would go from laughing with them to wanting to cry for them all in a matter of minutes. Most had been abandoned by their parents, some had AIDS (though we were not allowed to know which ones), many had been sexually abused (they were all under 4 years old!!!). The other group went to another township and began to prepare for some work we will do on people's homes. They said that the poverty was just unbelievable. A jobless woman "supporting" 8 kids (4 that were not hers) in a 10 ft. by 20 ft. shack. A woman whose house had half a room and rotted walls that allowed rain water to wash in from every direction. While we normally feel very comfortable in the city, the townships made most American poverty look like nothing. I haev little doubt that the next two weeks will be increidble draining as we spend every day in this atmosphere. I expect it to be incredible rewarding as well, but challenging nonetheless.
Today we will be at a nursing home in the same township and I really have no idea what to expect. None of the residents will speak English and we don't know how serious any of their physical ailments are. Please just continue to pray for our team. Our project has reached a whole new level of intensity we must not rely on ourselves alone to make a difference in these awful situations.