Today was our last full day with the kiddos at the
shelter. Each of the World Racer’s has
gravitated towards a few favorite kids in the shelter. My favorites are the ones that say, “Mommy!”
and come running whenever I enter the door.
So I spent the day playing with and holding my favorite kids.
This little boy we nicknamed Sumo…he loves to love.
Though his love comes across rather rough, he
has a very good heart.
This is my buddy little man.
He is the smallest walking kid I know and the toughest too. He is used to getting knocked over by the
bigger kids, so it takes a lot to make him cry. And he is always ready to blow kisses.
A new little girl was admitted to the shelter today. She is the size of a one year old, but her
teeth, speech, and ability to walk lead me to believe she is closer to two
years old. I saw tears running down her
cheeks when I entered the shelter, so I could not resist holding and comforting
her. It was not long before the tears
were replaced with smiles and she began to explore the shelter. The toddler quickly became my shadow and even
started mimicking my actions and words.
In this picture she was patting the bear on the back to comfort him just
as I had been doing with her.
This little girl is a clinger. She clings so tightly to me when I hold her
that I can actually let go and she holds herself up just as she is doing in this picture.
This final little guy is my favorite. I helped him to take his first steps, which
was amazing to experience. He has such
an infectious laugh that I was charmed by him the first time we interacted. Sometimes he laughs so hard he snorts.
Not only does he laugh hard but he sleeps hard too.
Tomorrow we will be saying goodbye to these little
guys. I wish I could fast forward and
see what they will be like when they are older, where they will live, and what
they will do. Because of the shelter,
each of them has hope for a good future.
I’m just grateful that I got to experience their unique personalities
for a little while.
We will also be saying goodbye to Ria, Tom, Tommy, Keanu,
and Dylan tomorrow. For the last week
and a half they have welcomed us into their home with open arms. I felt right at home and enjoyed the food,
hot showers, and especially the company.
Tomorrow we will travel to our debrief meeting place. We will meet up with the rest of the World Racers
to talk about the past month and next month. We fly out on the 1st for Bangkok,
Thailand. I’m not sure when I will be
able to blog next.
