Kids are tiring!! I have learned a couple things this month and that is the first. The ministry that both Team Degel and Team Genesis are partnering with this month is New Hope Jeremiah Project. This wonderful, God-honoring ministry is run by “Ma” Margie and “Pa” Connie Haynes, who have opened up their home to us and allowed us to live with them in their home. They run a ministry where kids can come after school and depending on the day of the week participate in things like Christian hip-hop dance music, bible study, or arts. In addition to playing with the kids who come for the after school program, which is mostly teenage girls (similar in age to my two sisters Christa and Julianna), we play with all of the neighborhood kids who know that Ma and Pa’s place is a home of fun and a place where the Americans are! Haha! Ma and Pa live on a cul-de-sac of sorts, kitty corner from a playground, so there are always kids playing soccer, tossing a rugby ball or playing on the playground. In addition to the neighborhood kids, I have really connected a lot with our contact Mirna’s two year old son, Landon. He is a ball of fire that is always running around and yelling and picking up things that aren’t his, in other words, he is a handful! But just yesterday I had him on my shoulders walking around the neighborhood naming things and talking back and forth for at least an hour and a half. He is such a blast, and makes me excited to have a son of my own someday.
I think I really connect with Landon, because he takes such an interest in every little thing, he is very spastic in a sense, and sometimes I really feel like I am the same way. So with my time that I am spending with Landon, I feel as though he is teaching me, even though the outward physical evidence may point to the opposite (being that he often repeats every word I say). I am so thankful to be here with Ma and Pa this month, hanging out with kids and experiencing a small portion of the future of fatherhood.
This really brings up a passion of mine. Being a father. Some day I am really praying that God blesses me with kids (specifically at least one boy) so that I can pour into their lives the way that my mom and dad poured into me. God truly blessed me with such awesome, Godly examples of what it means to raise kids in Christ. I think that part of the reason I was supposed to come on this race was to continue to learn what it looks like to be “fatherly” and use the example that God gave me through my dad. God knew I wasn’t ready to be a dad yet; but by God’s grace, after this race, I will!
