Matthew’s turn to blog. It’s day 4 here in the Mole, and like the days previous, we began it with devotions. We have morning and evening devotions and it’s great to be able to spend time in the word with others each day like clockwork. Then we scheduled some time to finish the gardening which we began on Tuesday. We were able to work in the early morning hours and avoid the heat of the day. I discovered I enjoy planting flowers and found it to be very calming. After encircling the clinic in flower seeds, we still had several bags left over to my surprise. I really hope the flowers will grow. It’s very dry here but I’ll pray tonight that those flowers will grow and maybe brighten the day of those that see them.
Shortly thereafter, we headed out in the streets to the community square. There we found a large rocky soccer field and several kids playing near the soccer goal. Seth and I approached with and found them kicking around an empty plastic bottle. If they can kick a bottle where they want, they can certainly place a soccer ball with impressive accuracy. Seth and I brought a soccer ball and the faces on the young boys lit up! They played almost continuously for almost 2 hours. Luckily there was some shade and we were able to move over there and watched them play even more. I had no idea what they were saying, but anyone could tell they were having a blast.
Ashlyn and Julie were able to have some in depth conversation with Pierre while Seth and I played soccer. We learned that Pierre has dreams to travel abroad and see new places. He also has a huge passion for education. One thing that really struck me, was his passion for learning how to make his orphanages even better. He desires to learn about how other orphanages are run in other countries and especially the services they have for disabled children. He is a very wise and selfless person.
We spent most of the afternoon preparing popcorn for movie night and filling water balloons for the orphan kids. Around 3pm the orphan kids arrived and we began with making bead bracelets and necklaces. Soon most of the beads were either on the floor or around the necks and wrists. Next we played water balloon toss and for me that was hilarious. Most of these kids probably have never held a water balloon, and once the first one popped, the shock of the first kid getting soaked, created joyful chaos for 15 minutes or so.
Dinner was hotdogs with the kids and then after a break, we sat down for movie night. Finding Nemo was on the schedule and like most kids, the movie captured their attention for only so long. Some kids slept on our laps, while others wiggled almost continuously. Another highlight for me was when the popcorn came out. One girl was asleep on Ashlyn, and the other kids were trying to wake her to inform her the popcorn had arrived. Needless to say, she was fast asleep and later did get her popcorn. I ended up watching the kids eat their popcorn more than watching the movie which was in French. It was hard to watch them pick up the popcorn off the floor and stuff it in their bags for later. But this is their world and that’s what they know.
It has been a full and busy day. But again, God has blessed us and I pray we blessed the children and staff here in the Mole.
Our team is still going strong, and we have one more full day here. Pray we finish strong! See ya’ll soon!
***
Please feel free to leave comments. Comments will be read at dinner! 🙂
So good to read your daily highlights and be a distant part of your service. – continue to pray for you to share the Good News with whomever God puts in your path on your final full day!