I wanted to share about a relationship I’ve been blessed to develop with a 10 year old boy named Sisai, pronounced See-say! As we are driving into the orphanage village , the kids are running aside the van screaming and yelling out of excitement to finally meet us all. Before we could even open the door they opened it and swarmed in to hug everybody in the back of the van. Me on the other hand? I was in the front seat. I look down out the window to my right to see a young boy (ahhhhhh I’m crying just thinking about this) gazing up at me smiling and asked me, “what’s your name?” Confused on how well he spoke English, I paused for 5 seconds just staring at him. Again he asked, “what’s your name?” I finally responded with my name. “Rrrrrrdashad?” he reiterated. I nodded. “My name is Sisai” he said as he walked a few steps back to get inside of the van. “Is this your bag? I’ll take it!” I tried to tell him it was heavy but he insisted! We got out the van to head into the house and he was by my side the rest of the day. As the days went on, our love for one another grew. After my morning runs, I would meet him and his orphan brothers as they were walking out the orphan compound for school. I would kneel down and hug each of them. Sisai would hug me the longest as I would kiss him on the head telling him to have a great day at school. They all turned around after waking about 20 yards and waved again. One boy said, “see you later alligator, after while crocodile!” in his deep Ethiopian accent. I couldn’t help but laugh. I watched them as they walked up the dirt road into the village. After, I stood gazing into the mountains that were afar in disbelief thinking about how I was once in South Carolina hugging the elementary boys I mentored, and now I’m in Africa hugging a group of Ethiopian boys that we’re headed off to school. Amazing. Sisai and I’s relationship has grown to the point wherever everybody knows that he is my guy! Just like me, he is a little feisty I’ve heard (he is calm around me). But this is my favorite story I’ve heard about him from a squad mate. As she was coloring, Sisai grabbed the marker out of her hand to use it. Hannah boldly said, “Hey!! That’s not nice! Say sorry!!!” Without taking his eyes off of his drawing he responds by saying, “you say sorry.” I had to tell pull him aside later and give him a lecture about being nice like Jesus was. He responded by saying, “I want to be kind, not nice!!” And he hugged me. I love that boy.
Every Friday we gather in the guesthouse to have movie night. All 25 kids gather in the living room area sitting on the floor, couches, and our laps. Sisai and I? We have our spot at the end of the couch. As soon as we see the popcorn arrive from a distance, we are both yelling for them to bring the big bowl of it to us. I make room for it on my lap, as he dumps all of it over my lap onto the blanket and passes the bowl to the next kid. Mind you, these are the old fleece type blankets my grandma had back in the day that made me itch laying under them. Lord knows how many people laid on this blanket. If you didn’t know, I’m a germaphobe. If it was my world, I would only eat a few popcorns due to them being on this old blanket. But Sisai wasn’t having it. “Eat more popcorn Rrrrrdshad!” In my head I’m thinking, “I don’t know where this little dudes hands been and I’m darn sure not trying to get lint from this old blanket in my mouth” So what did I do? I did what any germaphobe would do. I faked as if I was eating the popcorn. And to make matters worse, to really sell as if I was eating it, I would smack on the invisible popcorn in my mouth. We both would look at each other out of enjoyment of our movie and his popcorn experience. After each movie night, I would go to my room and get his favorite soda that I bought hours before in the village; his go to soda is Sprite. This is why I love this 10 year old boy so much. Get this. He knows he can’t let any of the kids know he has the soda or else all 25 sets of lips will be on that bad boy. So I smoothly pass it to him before he leaves the guesthouse, and he smoothly puts it under his pajama shirt and walks off into the night to his orphan home. Man I love that boy!!! And you want to know makes our connection so strong? Last week he said, “your name Muslim. I used to be Muslim. Now? I Christmas. My father Muslim. My mother Christmas.” I yelled out, “me too!!!! My father is Muslim too!!” And guess what this 10 year old boy did that no person in America has ever done for me? He boldly said “let’s pray for your father.” (Who is cutting onions?!?) We went back and forth for a little while on who should pray, he finally did after I said God will hear his prayers more than He will hear mine. “Dear God. I pray Rrrrdashad’s father finds you and becomes Christmas. Amen” As he was sitting on my lap, I just thanked him for doing an act that was so childlike but yet so bold.
I want to lead a generation of young boys and men that have childlike faith like Sisai. A generation of men that love unconditionally like Sisai. A generation of men that pray like Sisai. And a generation of men that have joy like Sisai despite what they’ve seen and been through. This is my first time truly loving a child like he is my own. I am nervous to say my farewell to Sisai next week I’m not going to lie. But I pray he will still be here when me and my bros come back to serve and love these orphans and the people of Ethiopia like God has called us to.
Yours Truly,
Chocolate Man
