I would like to introduce you to my favorite little guy, Bondele.
They tell us that we shouldn’t have favorites at the orphanage, but I believe there’s room for exceptions. When I first met Bondele I thought he was the most hyper boy I’d ever met and predicted he would probably give me headaches every day. But once I started spending time with him, I realized what a sweet, polite and fun-loving boy he really was.
About 2 weeks into the month we spent in Swaziland, the children started back up school. Since Bondele is 5 years old, he went to preschool in the mornings. One of my favorite parts of the day was standing by the fence waiting for the kids to return home from school. Bondele would trot in with his nice dress pants and corduroy jacket. He would come up and hug me and I would ask him how school was and what he learned that day. The thing about Bondele is that he isn’t much of a talker. He says “yes” occasionally but his trademark is his contagious laugh. Bondele loves to laugh and he does it all the time.
I loved all the quality time I had with him, whether it be swinging together, watching him climb a tree or having him sit on my lap. I was dreading the day where I would have to say goodbye to Bondele because he really had stolen my heart. Our last day there we went around hugging all of the kids. When I got to Bondele I picked him up and hugged him. I told him to keep being a good boy and try hard at school and I reminded him that Jesus loves him. When I set him back on the ground he looked up at me and said “See you again?” Of course I lost it at this point and began tearing up.
I find it impossible to imagine what it is like for these kids who don’t have parents but do have people come in and out of their lives constantly. My prayer for the children of El Shaddai is that they grow up happy and healthy with a loving family. Bondele touched my heart in such a short period of time and I can only hope that I did the same for him.
