Journal
Entry – Monday August 17th 2009
8:30am
We are
meeting to pray before we go out to the care points. I don’t know which care point we are going to
but it’s Darci, Noah, Robyn and I. This
should be interesting. Our last night
with children didn’t go so well. (we were in charge of children’s ministry when
the adults were doing their thing and the kids were maniacs)
Lord, please
give me love, kindness, patience, and compassion today. An extra portion
please. Help me to love them as You love
them Jesus.
Thank You
for this day.
Lord, heal
Anna C today. Give her rest and
restoration.
12:30pm
Ok. We’re
back.
Things went
pretty good. Songs, games and David
& Goliath skit which went ok; kids standing around waiting for their turn
usually isn’t good, but anyway.
Colored from
a color book, that went well.
Oh yeh,
while singing songs, a group of Italians came walking up with cameras, a video
camera and a bag of clothes. They were
tourists and stopped on the side of the road to drop things off to whoever. At
first we thought they were scheduled to help volunteer when we saw white people
walking towards us, but then we noticed a couple of the women were not dressed
appropriately and I started to get frustrated cuz they were just taking
pictures and videoing. Darci went to
talk to a few of them while Noah and I kept singing. We had heard this happens a lot by our
ministry contact and it has caused the locals to expect things from white
people whenever they come. Anyway. They were nice, they ended up giving a bag
of clothes and about $100.00 to Noah, which Noah passed on to our contact… used
then for more food to care points that ran out.
Later on I
noticed a little little boy who didn’t have any pants on. He was about 1 year old. No pants, no diaper just a really dirty
shirt. I was searching for something in
the bag that was dropped off and found him a clean which was a bit longer but
no pants. There were some clothes I knew
would fit some of the kids, so I found some kids that really needed new things. I assessed what was in the bag and would
scope out which children would fit into the clothes and then quietly called
them aside to dress them in a closet area of the small building of a care
point.
It was the
best feeling ever! To see their smile when they got a new shirt or
sandals. One boy about 7 or 8 had ½ a
shirt on and some shorts. ½ a shirt
meaning it was some cut off shirt only covering his upper chest with his sweet
belly exposed. I told him to come to the
area where I was going through clothes and got him a matching outfit. A yellow and orange tank top and orange
shorts, which I think may have been at one time a little girls… but they don’t
know that. His smile was so BIG and he was so proud to be wearing a new
outfit – clean clothes that fit. I was
thrilled and he hugged me and thanked me with his smile. I thanked God for the experience.
Another girl
saw I was passing clothes out and wanted some.
She was about 12 and helped out
with many of the children, so I gave her a shirt and she asked if there was a
skirt that would fit. There was but it
was a bit b
ig, she looked at the belt and told me that she could put more holes
in it to make it work. Almost trying to
convince me that I should give it to her, she could make it work. I was thinking, honey, you don’t have to
convince me it will work for you… I know you’ll make it work… of course you can
have it I told her. She was ecstatic. She put it on under the skirt she was already
wearing but would hike it up ever so often to relook at her new orange
skirt. She said to me, “Oh, thank you
friend.” And hugged me easily 2x. It was
such a great feeling.
Such simple
things.
Lord, thank
You for a chance to do that. Thank You
for those Italian people and their desire to give. Thank You that they stopped by where we were
at and that I was able to experience the gratefulness that exuded in the smiles
and the hugs of your beautiful children.
So sweet, so innocent, so needy; basic needs.
They are allsick with snotty noses, patchy hair, falling out or just dry spotty skin. No shoes, no underwear, sometimes no
pants. Little – little – little coming
there all by themselves. 1-2-3 years old
walking distances of a couple of blocks or so to eat. Bringing their grimy, dirty, dish to be
filled, heaped with beans and “pop” corn rice meal mix of some sort.
empty bellies.
Lord, I know
You are with them.
You have to
be.
Keep them
warm when they need warmth.
Fed when
they’re hungry.
Hugged when
they need love.
Protection
when they are in danger.
Healed when
they are hurt.
Comforted
when they are sad / lonely.
LORD BE THEIR EVERYTHING.
T H A N K Y O U !
Children in
Swaziland had fun with us as we played games, sang songs, colored, painted
fingernails and had them be a part to David & Goliath and Noah’s Ark
skits. I couldn’t have been there had it
not been for my supporters. Just three
more months to go and $1920.00 to go to be fully funded. Thank you for your prayers.
