Emilie, Morgan, Andrew, and I took a tuk-tuk to the water
park this morning. Shortly after we
arrived a truck pulled up and 15 smiling orphans jumped out. The girls I met yesterday ran to me to give me
hugs, Mommie!” The kids quickly changed
into their “bathing outfits”. It is not
culturally appropriate to wear just a swim suit, so we had to wear shirts and
shorts over our suits. The girls
grabbed my hands and pulled me to run with them to the water slides (Rule
number 1 broken- Don’t run).
They
eagerly jumped and dove into the water (Rule number 2 broken-Don’t dive in the
shallow end of the pool).
Even the young
kids were not afraid of the water and they went under, played on the tubes, and
splashed around (Rule Number 3 broken-Don’t splash).
The slides were started up so the kids ran up
the stairs and jumped on tubes to come down.
It wasn’t long before trains were being made and groups of kids were
riding on the slides together (Rule Number 4 broken- One person on the slide at
a time).
I sucked in my breath as kids
were plowed over because they did not move away from the slide quickly enough (Rule
Number 5 broken- Don’t go until the bottom of the slide is clear). I looked for the lifeguard; all I could find
was a security guard in full uniform and boots.
Sometimes he was not even around the pool (Rule Number 6 broken- Only
swim with lifeguard present). A few of
the girls liked to stop in the middle of the slide where they could be rammed
by other kids coming down the slide (Rule Number 7 broken- Don’t stop in the
middle of the slide).
Mid-morning the
kids were called out of the pool for a banana to snack on. Many of them grabbed their bananas and jumped
right back into the water to eat (Rule number 8 broken- No food in the pool).
Due to the broken rules there were a few
bruised knees, bumped heads, and scraped legs, but I don’t think the injuries
will be remembered. I kept praying for protection, but also had to
thank the Lord for filling the kids with such joy. As I was pulled up the stairs to go down the
slide again and again, the kids kept saying, “Happy, Happy.” They laughed and screamed and smiled. As we rode down the slide together in a train
they clutched tightly to my shirt squealing, “Mommie!” A $2 ticket into the water park provided
priceless fun and happy memories.
