Note: please pardon the craptastic quality of these iPhone photos. I didn't feel like uploading the pics from my DSLR. The subjects of said photos, however, are fantastic.
There’s a scene in Peter Pan where Wendy is getting the wild little Lost Boys tucked into bed. Wendy had been brought to Neverland by Peter Pan to be a “mother” to Peter’s Lost Boys. This was not what Wendy had expected when she agreed to take Peter’s hand and fly to Neverland. Even more unexpected, the boys ask her if she’ll be their mother. Her own brothers are having difficulty remembering their mother. In this moment, Wendy sings them to sleep with a lullaby about the love of a mother.
This month, we’ve working with Prison Fellowship Nepal and living in a boys home for boys who’s parents’ are in prison. Each boy at the children’s home has a sponsor who pays $50 USD a month so the boys don’t have to live in prison with their parents.
Emma means “Mother” in Nepali:
I am Wendy and I am living with the Lost Boys.
Living with these boys this month has been different than anything that I could’ve imagined. Much like Wendy, when I got to my “Neverland” of Nepal, I came for the promise of an adventure in a land I’ve dreamed of for over a decade. I came to Nepal looking for some big answers and with the expectation that God was going to reveal some crucial part of my future here. Instead, God has been strangely silent while I’ve been with these boys playing “mother” for about 2 hours a day when they come home from school. In this silence, I feel kind of helpless. I don’t really know what to do with myself… Am I supposed to rest? How am I supposed to impact their lives? What do I do?
During this time of questions, I try to do what Wendy would do. I try to remind these boys that they are special and they are loved.
[My sweet little "banyanya" Manesh. He has the cutest laugh and "raspberries" are a great way to bring it out]
A lot of the time that means turning on some dub-step music for them so they can show off their dance moves…
[Robin: one of many dancers in the boys home]
OR listening to them sing and plan guitar…
[Sujan]
[Sudip]
One time, I even got to show one of the boys his Hollywood look-alike
[Passanz aka RUFIO!]
Even though I’m walking away from this month with more questions than answers about what I’m supposed to do with my life, it has still been a special month. It has re-ignited my passion for children’s rights and child advocacy, and it has given me a chance to share some love and joy with these incredible “lost boys”
![[Karan... he's my other favorite]](/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/947066_10100674525183153_512626268_n6.jpg)
[Karan… He's one of my favorites]
[Chandra.. the toughest kid you will ever meet. Really, he fell off a balcony and only got scratched up]
End note: I'm fully funded! If you would like to donate to some of my squad-mates, I know they'd greatly appreciate it!
