This week I get to introduce you to a very special boy… meet Noel.
Noel came to be a part of the NFFCH only a little over a year ago. He came in speaking no English at all, and a year later, is doing very well. Noel is 9 years old and is in our special education class at our community school. But please do not be misled by this… Noel is an extremely smart young man! He simply needs extra attention and can sometimes take longer to do things. But he is very smart!
Noel is like most of our other younger boys, who likes to do things that little boys do: basketball, tag, soccer, marbles, climb anything and everything in sight, etc. Noel is actually a very good climber! On one side of the children’s home we have an empty lot that is a big overgrown grassy area. Between us and that empty lot is a cement fence that is about six feet high, with a chain link fence extending even higher, with barbed wire looping the top. One day, in my first month of being here, I remember looking over and seeing a head pop up on the other side of that fence. And wouldn’t you know it… it was Noel! I still have no idea how he got over that fence; just that his ball got thrown over and he determinedly followed it over to get to it, and then couldn’t seem to find his way back. So I had to walk around to the other side of the empty lot and bring him back.
Because Noel is a little slower, he prefers to spend his time with those a little younger than him, who aren’t as harsh on him like the older boys tend to be. He also likes to play with the toddlers, loves to carry them around, and spends many afternoons pushing Heartlyn around in a toy car. He also likes to spend time with Marilyn, one of our foreign caregivers at the home (she’s Canadian), who he’s formed a special bond with.
Noel is often looking for affirmation and encouragement from those around him. He loves to shoot around at the basketball hoop and have someone watch him and cheer for him when he makes it in. Just recently I have begun doing typing lessons with Noel as well and he has caught on very fast! Now whenever I see him he says “Tita, computers!” and makes a typing hand-motion with a big smile on his face, to which I respond, “yeah Noel you are doing so well!”
This week, please pray for Noel. Pray for his continued learning of the English language, pray for his social development, his education at the school, and his interaction with the other kids. Pray that he would feel loved and cared for at the children’s home by the caregivers and volunteers, and also pray for his teeth to straighten out quickly (we recently put braces on him). And of course, pray for a deeper understanding of what it means to be a Christian, and that he would desire to have Jesus in his heart.
