Africa. We could hardly believe that we were in Africa as we were driven through the dirty backgrounds outside of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Fortunately for us, the children’s village we were staying with had remembered to send a ride to pick us up – it would have been a long hitchhike without them.

Ryan began to interview one of the boys who stayed at the village while I recorded our bumpy trip. The young man, Bombalayla, was talkative and inviting, indicating to us in a thick African accent that the village was close.

Pointing the camera outside the window, I got our first taste of what was going to last three weeks, and change Ryan, Luke and me in countless ways.

The village was 12 km outside of Bulawayo, situated on an old farm formerly run by the whites – who were removed years ago.

Khaylihle (pronounced Kie-a-hish-ley) housed more than 90 children removed from the streets and abusive homes and placed in loving care. When we got off the bus, those same 90 kids were all outside, waiting to greet us.

Kara and her team, who had arrived a week earlier, had done their part to teach the children our names.

“Joel!” “Ryan!” “Luke!” They would call out, not knowing who we were, but understanding that at least one of us would respond.

Jetlagged and tired, it was amazing to be welcomed with such enthusiasm. A quick soccer game later, we all took a nap before heading to the Zimbabwe house for a Bible study.

The village was separated by houses of the countries that built them.

There were two Australian houses, two New Zealand houses, one Zimbabwe house and one American house. Each house held about 20, including workers who cooked, cleaned and took care of the kids.

Every night, the houses had Bible devotions and singing. The night we went to the Zimbabwe house, the eldest boys were watching the World Cup.

We then realized we were watching the World Cup in Africa. (Boy, did our friends wish they could do that!)

Starting that night, and ending with the last day we were there, we visited one of the houses every night, soaking ourselves in the warmth of the kids’ love.

These kids had nothing – and yet they would give their most prized possessions to us to show us they cared. We were floored.

Even more, their joy was contagious, especially in the American house.

Those girls loved to sing, and every night without fail, we’d hear their voices drifting across the village grounds, their traditional African songs of worship echoing.

During our first week, we interviewed Jabulani, one of the heads of the village.

He explained to us the story of Khaylihle and how the village accepted orphans.

Khaylihle has worked hard to maintain a good relationship with the government so that they can accept kids from the streets.

Sometimes, children are dumped at the gates, and other times kids are taken from abusive homes.

We interviewed Vanessa, one of the older girls from American house, for the documentary.

We asked her what life was like before the village, but she was unable to tell us that story.

“Those times were too sad,” she said. “But I’m happy now. That’s what matters.”

We spent time in the city of Bulawayo, even taking an overnight trip to Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

But our thoughts kept turning back to the kids of the village. Every time we missed a night there, we would ask ourselves, “I wonder what they’re doing tonight. Probably singing.” And we would wish we were there.

Three short weeks passed, with many adventures and stories.

We experienced traditional African food (like cow intestine), Ryan and Luke preached in an African church, and we got to live wild and free in a wild, exciting adventure.

However, nothing compared to spending time with those kids, making a difference in their lives as they made a difference in ours.

Still, a month later, I wonder every night what the kids are doing now.

Probably singing.

The story doesn’t end here.Check out our website at www.stepdocumentary.com.

Become a fan on facebook at www.facebook.com/stepdocumentary, and be looking for the film to be released in early January.

This is the third part of a three-part series about the “Step” Documentary. For previous articles, visit www.easttennessean.com.

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