Ivy, Haze and Dillon… if I could adopt these three little kids I probably would. They are some of the lucky ones though- they have caring parents, decently clean clothes and they all go to school.
Ivy is unbelievably smart and has an incredibly high reading level.
Dillon is a born leader and even though he isn’t the oldest, all of the kids in their group look up to him.
Haze is one of the cutest little boys I have ever seen and he is going to be a gorgeous man of God when he grows up.
Our first day here we were scraping who knows what kind of nastiness off of the bars on the church windows to the sounds of these random kids hiding in the ditches across the street singing songs. After a few hours they worked up enough courage to creep onto the church lawn. A few hours after that the boys were running around the yard with Dustin, giggling, chasing him with sticks and getting tickled until they fell on their backs.
I went over and began playing with them but one little girl refused to join us and stood just out of arms reach, watching. That was Ivy, and I made it my goal to make her smile before the day was over… but I failed. An entire afternoon of trying to talk to her and play with her and she never responded, but I made sure I hugged her before we left.
The next day I was a little bummed when we got to the church and none of the kids were there… but about two minutes after we got out of the car I heard this giggling stampede coming up behind me. I turned around just in time to see who was leading the pack: Ivy. I couldn’t believe my eyes as this shy little girl bolted into my arms giggling and smiling. Dillon and Haze were the next two that hit me and the four of us fell over on the lawn hugging each other.
Back in the day I wanted to be a teacher. I loved kids and would play with any child I saw whether we were in church or on the street corner and whether I knew them or not. Then this strange thing happened and God took away my love for children. Completely. All of a sudden I disliked kids and couldn’t stand them. This trip God has given me back that love and it is incredible. It is probably just for a season but I feel honored to be a part of all of this- to love God’s children and teach them that they are smart, they are important, they are loveable and they are special.
So this is just week one for our team as we learn about love. There has been some soul searching and some pain but it has been awesome. I have a long way to go and a lot to learn about loving others as well as myself but I am excited about it.
-God’s Adored and Beloved Daughter
Dillon being an awesome big brother and holding Haze as he naps through a meeting
Haze made a broom to help us sweep out the church
and then he used that empty paint can to help us move a mountain of rocks
