Meet Farisha.
She dropped the colored pencil from her little hand and watched it roll across the messy worksheets spread out before her. She then slouched back in the chair and let out a deep sigh as if the completed exercises of numbers and colors had drained each ounce of energy from her tiny 6 year old self. She had never been a girl of many words and any audible acknowledgement was a subtle victory for me in building some sort of friendship. After composing herself, she reached for her little princess water bottle to take a swig. She exerted all remaining pep in yanking the lid right off, only to jolt the bottle back and dump the contents all over her clothes. Her pink, Frozen t-shirt and little star-covered pajama pants were completely soaked. It took one glance at her to recognize the panic and embarrassment that instantly consumed her. My lips curled up into a smile as I leaned forward and grasped the orange Nalgene resting before me. I unscrewed the lid, slid back into my seat, and poured the remaining water across my lap. A relieved, toothy smile spread across her face reaching from ear to ear. We both burst into a giggling fit and from that moment on, Farisha and I had officially become friends.
In the weeks that followed we have built quite the friendship. She still doesn’t utilize her words much, but each time she repeats a letter or word her soft voice warms my heart. From where we started, any words are considered serious progress! She spends most sessions shyly gazing up at me with a warm smile full of adoration as I attempt to teach her basic english. My team mate Sally summarized that look when she said, “You will know how much your children love you if they look at you the way Farisha does!” It is amazing how comfortable she has become with me. We even created our own secret handshake! Each time she completes a task she enthusiastically drops the pencil and prepares for the series of high-fives and fist pounds (cutest thing ever, see below). She loves it, as do I. The time I get with her each day is precious. I may be the one with the formal opportunity to be teaching her, but the lessons she is teaching me will impact the way I love for the rest of my life.
Farisha is the girl who stole my heart on the mission field. She is such a bundle of joy and she makes me so excited to be a father one day 🙂
The Secret Handshake:
