Highs and Lows

Let's start with the highs the last few days...

1. Yesterday I went to the orphanage's feeding program where there were sweet little neighborhood children, who for some, this is the only time they eat. There is a group of kids from another orphanage that come and they are so adorable. They are well behaved, greet every adult with a handshake or kiss, wait until all of their peers have been served their food, and then they start eating together. Then, they walk back home holding hands two by two. :)

2. As I was leaving the feeding program, there was a child that was standing outside the gate. I gave him a little side hug and greeted him "bonswa," (good afternoon). Then he just grabbed my arm and wrapped it around himself and asked me not to leave. So I just held him, talked to him and some of the other neighborhood kids for a bit, then he walked with me down a few houses to my home here. But then he asked for water and I felt so bad that I had to turn him away (our facilities cannot provide enough for the neighborhood so I had to say no). I saw him again today (in his same dirty, torn up clothes), and I remembered his name. He was so happy. But even with a water bottle in my hand, I had to tell him I couldn't give him water. It broke my heart. :(

3. Today the 1st and 2nd graders came together and drew what they thought heaven would look like. Ti-Bo, a second grader, wrote "In heaven, there will be no more sin. There will be no more sickness. I will see Jesus." Then there was a picture of a little angel. The kids sat in a circle and everyone attentively listened and didn't make fun or laugh at each other...those of you who have been here know that is very uncommon.

4. I was helping my 2nd grader, MarcKendy, write a paragraph about where he would like to fly if he had a ticket to anywhere. He said he wanted to fly to another planet. I asked what he thought would be there. He responded, "I don't know! That's why I want to go. I've never been there!" Then we had a discussion about aliens, which was hard to explain with a bit of a language barrier. He added, "If an alien came to eat me, I would shoot it. No No! I would get the Bible of God and beat it!" Nice strategy I say! :)

5. Me and Kamala tutored two 1st grade boys at their play area called The Ben's. We sat on the bleachers, with a nice breeze, and just worked on the alphabet with them. They were so eager to learn and little Lukenson, sweet little boy, just came and sat behind me and hugged me and kissed my face as I was teaching another boy. Soooo sweet.

Lows:
1. My Richard has just hit a low. He got in trouble the first two days of school for disrespecting the teachers. Then today he kept making fun of the kids in class and refused to apologized. He got sent home for the day and we had been in school for less than an hour! He had several chances to apologize today, but still hasn't been able to do it. I feel his heart hardening and I'm praying the Lord just does a work in his life. There's only so much love I can give, but only God has the power to change hearts and lives. Please keep praying that those walls he has built up would just fall, that he'd let God's love heal him, and that he'd allow others to love him.

Overall, much more highs than lows. God is good!