February 12th, 2011
Yesterday (the date of this blog), the morning consisted of continuing to clear out a play area for the kids and clearing some banana trees that a drunk man had chopped down at night. (Banana trees are like wet rolls of paper so they don’t make much sound when being hacked down. But they are fun to whack with a bolo knife!) Also, in case you didn’t know, most people around the third world sweep with brooms that are way too short, often it’s practically just the broom head itself. This morning was different: I had a full-length bamboo and straw broom to work with. But alas, I must have been brooming too vigorously (see Isaiah 14:23) because the straw broom slid off the bamboo pole. I tried to reattach it to no avail, so I resigned myself to stooping and brooming this quarter-acre plot of land. (Oh yeah, people around the world sweep the dirt off the bare ground too. I thought that man was insane in Africa when he would sweep the bare ground in the front yard at 4 in the morning. But it actually keeps the place from becoming a breeding ground for insects and weeds and such because all the loose rocks and sticks and foliage are swept away every day. Even puddles of water dry up faster when they’re swept through the yard! lol) Anyways it was a good thing to do that too because later in the day I played with some kids were playing some kickball/cricket game with bare feet.
And that’s mostly what the day’s activity was: playing with kids. Pastor Al wants us to play with kids often, too, especially us guys. He says that few kids have fathers who set a good example, and the more that the kids can see and interact with godly men the better.
I experienced a lesson in this yesterday when I was playing with some kids. A little girl of maybe 7 years old ( I have the hardest time telling Filipino ages.) had come to me and used me as a merry-go-round and launch pad. I would spin her around by her arms one moment and then she wanted me to throw her in the air the next moment. I would hold her hands and she would jump and at the same time I would lift her up; she got some good altitude too.
Her older sister (by maybe 3 years, I couldn’t tell) had come up ( as far as I could understand their names are Mary Joy and Mariam? , the older) and Mary Joy was telling her sister to “try this! he can spin you around and throw you in the air and catch you!” They spoke in Tagalog but I understood what was going on. At first, Mariam seemed to eye me distrustfully and although I held out my hands in offer to play with her she wouldn’t take them until she watched me play with her little sister and some toddler for a few minutes. She was still hovering nearby though and I could tell she wanted to play so I took a step over toward her and held out my hands again. She reluctantly took them and participated with being swung around and tossed up. After about 15 minutes of playing a felt like she was fully at ease around me; when I offered my hands she happily accepted the game. We were all having a good old time and I was getting a huge arm workout. But this morning I was surprised when after church she came running up to me and without hesitation took my hands, squated down as if to jump, and said some word in Tagalog which I can only guess means “Jump!” So I threw her in the air again. Anyways, I don’t know if she had mistrusted me because I’m a guy or a foreigner or because she didn’t think I could throw her or what. But whatever the reason, the ultimate outcome of the day’s experiences was that she learned she could trust at least one guy and had good interaction and fun with a fellow brother in Christ.
Atay Judith and Atay Marina cleaned my wounds again and they are doing much better. I may not have to go to the clinic tomorrow anyways! I was kind of looking forward to it haha, just being in a clean environment once again. But thank God the infection is clearing up.
