I have the house to
myself for a moment as all the children are sleeping. I just sent Mastwat home
as she has finished all her work for the day and we are going out to a burger restaurant
to celebrate the 4th of July with an old friend of Sean's (from
high school in Kenya) who is in town with his family tonight. I attempted to take a shower just now but I
couldn't get myself to step into the barely warm dribble of water coming down…so
instead I have a moment to write, which I always love.
A mentor of mine recommended Bob Goff’s book “Love Does” and
I am enjoying it so much. I just pick it
up when I have time and the chapters are short and easy to read. It is about embracing life, following the
things God has made us to love and trusting God enough to follow those things
through. He says in his book a good
father is like God who “gets down on both knees, leans over his children’s
lives, and whispers, “where do you want to go?”” God loves us that much, that he plants desires
in us, for his kingdom purposes, and says I’ll go with you, what do you want to
do…If we listen and just respond to the needs around us there is so much to do!
I need to get better though at seeing
the needs and listening to God’s voice about what to do in the moment. I want to be less of a planner here in Africa , and more of a doer. Less obligated and more alive to follow His
kingdom purposes at any moment.
The boys have been playing outside our gate with the local
children. They beg me every afternoon,
PLEASE Mommy can we go play with the big kids?
The kids that live in the small homes nearby often gather near our gate,
and we come out with American sports toys; a football or baseball gloves, or
the favorite a real soccer ball. Sometimes
one of the kids has a small ball to share too, usually a tightly stuffed
plastic bag made into a ball. This, the new thing to my kids, is what my kids
love to play with, and the other kids play with our things. The local children are wonderful at including
our little kids and really showing them some pretty amazing soccer moves and I
hope exposing them to some Amharic. The big
kids love to laugh at my attempt to pronounce their names and giggle at the
phrases they recognize in English. I
just smile as I watch them all play, and Caleb and Eli especially are in pure
bliss getting to play with BIG KIDS.
We went over to the boys school today-Here are some photos with the tortoises that walk around their campusJ
Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are his; we are his people the sheep of his pasture...For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100: 3, 5
On another note we have a huge praise. Sean just came home with Luke's box that was lost! Thank you so much for your prayers!!! (I had totally given up the past few days!)
Thanks for these posts- they are so fascinating! I'm really happy that your little people are getting acquainted with the neighborhood kids and finding their niche so quickly. Children are so good at that! I'm glad that you have help at the house and I hope that your adjustment continues smoothly!
ReplyDeleteI know that I'm extremely grateful for all of the sacrifices my parents made and the unpredictable situations they had to go through to give us such a diverse and exciting childhood. It's really admirable that you're doing the same for your family. Best wishes and keep up the awesome posts!
Beth