June 29, 2017- Day 12

I have so loved gathering in the chapel each morning with the staff for worship and devos. I will so miss this daily gathering of worship.

12:59 p.m.

Today has been a productive day so far. I did circle time with the Kindergartners this morning, painted the signs in the yards, and did the tractor shape/color art activity with the Kindergarten class, too. 

6:10 p.m.

I just had the best moment with Emily (who is HIV positive). I came around the corner of the chapel and, seeing her, called her name. She turned and ran to me, throwing her arms around me in a hug. I embraced her back, hugging for a long while in silence. Finally, she spoke. Her little voice said, "You are leaving tomorrow." I said that yes, I was leaving in the morning, though I didn't want to. I said, 

"You belong to Jesus, yes?"

"Yes," she said.

"And I belong to Jesus, yes?"

"Yes."

"And where do when go when our time here is done?"

"Heaven."

"Yes. So, if I do not see you again here on this earth, I will see you in Heaven."

I looked down at her face, and saw a tear streaking from her eye down her cheek. My tears flowed all the more, then. All the while we never stopped hugging. This was my favorite moment of the day, and perhaps of the whole trip.

9:35 p.m.

After dinner, we went to devos with the kids one last time. We had a dance party with glow sticks. Emily taught me a hand-clap, and I had so much fun dancing with her. It was amazing to see all these kids with glow sticks in the dark on the playground Bill built. All you could see was moving and bouncing glow sticks.

A beautiful moment happened in the midst of it. Emily was climbing up on the slide, and as she went down, she called out for me to watch her. I lost her in the dark as she slid down the slide, but she didn't lose me. A moment later, out from the dark, she thudded into me, wrapping her arms around my waist. Several times she did this, and each time I loved it. 

After devos, when I hugged Emily good night, she wrapped her arms around me sooo tightly. I promise to pray for her....

June 28, 2017- Day 11

Today did not go the way I planned, but it was a good day. 

I started the day in Standard 8 because their teacher was coming in late. I did spelling with them, and facilitated a Sparkle spelling game with their words. I switched to Standard 7 and did the same thing. I moved from Standard 8 to 7 because the two teachers teach two subjects each, and then switch to the other standard to teach those same two subjects again. I also organized their cabinet (one for each class), which was a hot mess. 

After lunch, the teacher came back, so I was able to go help paint the playground Bill built. It got paint all over me, and that was rotten because the paint was iron oxide (not safe, and difficult to get off). But, I had fun doing it!

After painting, I went to Kindergarten and did my paper bag kite project with the kids. They loved it! I had so much fun watching them run and fly the kites behind them. It's very cool to bring this project from my preschool class in America to kids here in Africa. 

After dinner, despite feeling so tired and drained, I went to devos with the team. It was fun to dance with the kids to worship music. I absolutely loved singing "It Is Well" with these kids. I had one hand in the air in worship, while my other hand was being held by one child, while yet another leaned into me. Such a precious time of worship. 

After worship, as Jessi started to give her testimony, I saw Faith (with the broken hand) holding Jacklyn (little 1 year old baby). She was fussing, so I motioned to Faith, asking if I could take her. She nodded 'yes', so I took Jacklyn and sat down. She started to fuss again, so I stood up and rocked her. She put her head against my chest, rubbing her sleepy eyes. She kept lifting her head, so I walked into the darkness, out of the light. As I stood, rocking this baby from side to side, I looked up into the African night sky. I was amazed at what I saw. Though cloud-covered, it was beautiful. I felt privileged to be standing there with this now sleeping child in my arms. It was a beautiful moment as I listened to her breathing. I loved getting to carry her back to her house momma's bed in the little room they share. 

And I loved praying for her as I walked. I also loved saying 'goodnight' to the boys.

I learned today that the boys are not circumcised until 8th grade. Outside of Each One Feed One, it is a terrible ceremony, performed in front of many people. There is singing and strange things that happen, and it often happens while they are on breaks from school. Each One Feed One sends the boys to a clinic to have it done in private, and then they stay there for two weeks to recover.

I was thinking today about FGM (female genital mutilation). For the girls, it happens on breaks from school. Heads are shaved and they're forced to work in the fields. I can't imagine what it is like for them to endure this....It breaks my heart to know that they are enduring it.

June 27, 2017- Day 10

In devos this morning, Johnny said about Psalm 3, "We need to praise Him while being attacked by the enemy." David did. He praised God while being chased by Saul to be killed.

Lord, help me to praise you while being attacked by the enemy. 

5:14 p.m.
I got to do a little painting and manual labor this afternoon. It was to get the playground finished. I also did some things for Kindergarten: I made a 1-100 counting chart, remade their class roster and birthday chart, and made a list of their circle time routine to help the teachers remember what to do at circle time. It's crazy that they don't know some of the children's birth dates. It's different than in the United States. Most everyone there knows their birth date...but, not here.

While in Kindergarten today, I also put their books upright on the shelf, changing their position of being stacked on top of one another, unable to see what books are in the closet. They're also much easier to access now.

Prayer this morning with the ladies in the clinic was beautiful and very powerful. I want to hear from God the way Juliana hears. I want to be so close to Him that I know for sure when He speaks.

The children here are so precious. I already do not want to leave them. I want to be in every moment, not missing a thing. Leaving in two days will be tough.

9:00 p.m.
Before dinner tonight, we started to give the babies baths. I think we only got two done, but it was a sweet time, though one wanted nothing to do with a bath.

Lines from a song I heard today keep playing in my head:

"Love like you're not scared
Give when it's not fair
Live life for another
Take time for your brother
Fight for the weak ones
Speak out for freedom
Find faith in the battle
Stand tall but above it all
Fix my eyes on you, on you
I fix my eyes on you, on you"

What does it look like to do these things?

On a different note, when I sat with Wilson tonight at devos, loving on him, I felt like a momma. And as I walked the porch of the clinic, Emily's eyes caught mine and she lit up and threw herself onto me in a hug. That little girl...I love her so much.

And Wilson...his shirt was ripped on both sides from his armpits down to his waist. I took it to sew it, but a man who was helping to fix the sewing machine, and teaching the older girls how to use it, sewed it up for me. I was so thankful, because it would have taken me awhile to do it. If I could, though, I'd fix all of the children's school uniforms. I'd give them all new socks and underwear. Many of these kids only have one pair of clothes. They have one school uniform. Their socks have holes in them, in the toes and heels. But, they continue to wear them because it's all they have. If one of my socks gets a hole in it, I toss it out, knowing I can go buy more, and that I have several other pairs. This is a luxury they don't have here.

It's difficult because there is so much to be done here, but I am only one person...one person who is leaving in two days....

Lord, bring people to do the work.  

Wilson slipped his wrist into my bracelet.
I'm so thankful for His presence here. None of us are ever alone.

My sweet Wilson

Precious Stella

A house momma and her biological baby

A house momma and the baby in her charge

Painting the elephant play structure)