Yesterday I went to church with Alice and the kids. It is so refreshing to be there. Even though I don’t understand most of what is going on, I sense the presence of God and the hearts of the people. I love these people. These are the Burkinabe that impacted me so much two years ago. Speaking of two years ago…one thing that was a highlight for our team was the two nights of dancing around the church in a circle while singing…for three hours each time. It was a sweaty celebration of brothers and sisters in Christ. I tell you this because while we were singing on Sunday, the circle began! I was excited to just watch, but little did I know that the second person in the line was MARIE! She was the other girl who I got to know well here last time. She motioned for me to come join her with a big smile. So, I gave her a quick hug as we danced around the church. Not knowing the words and not being able to “feel the beat” exactly like an African, I again felt like I did in 2006…silly but wonderful! Afterwards, I got to talk with Marie and Elizabeth together and give long overdue hugs. What a moment! I thank God for allowing me to experience this! With broken French and English we expressed our excitement, and I think that in two weeks they are going to come visit me. We will see! I can’t wait to talk with them more! The rest of Sunday was not as exciting…more lesson planning. Here is a picture of Marie, me, and Elizabeth:
Today I introduced the Kindergarteners to Mr. S and his Super Socks! They really like this one…and so do I! I also taught the math lesson today which was the last day for “one more.” I thought I would be creative and use playing cards since the numbers correspond with the hearts, spades, cloves, and diamonds. I had the kids find the card that had one more, etc. This was not as big of a hit as I had hoped. I think this would have been good for older grades though. Oh well…we learn.
Funny story of the day…during story time I noticed that two of my students, of the opposite gender, were sitting really close. They are the tiniest kids in the class and both are five. They were holding hands and then pulling up their shirts so that they could tickle one another. At first I was cracking up, but they were getting a little inappropriate for the class, so I sat in between them. During free time later, they made each other gifts: a painting for the boy and a necklace for the girl. So, before we went home, we were sitting on the carpet. Sheila noticed that they couldn’t keep their hands off of one another again and told them to move. This time they were putting their hands down each other’s pants. Sheila and I caught glances and tried hard not to laugh.
After school I went back to the orphanage with Sheila and a few other older girls. There were only a few of us, unlike last time. When we got there, several of the babies were crying, so we jumped in and started picking them up. Even with all of us and the few workers, there were still more babies. I don’t know how these workers do it by themselves. Today the smell was not as bad and the babies seemed generally cleaner which was good to see. The little girl that was so little the last time, her name is Sienna. She is still so tiny but maybe just a bit bigger. As soon as I walked in the door I grabbed one little baby name something close to Anna. She stole my heart, and I had a hard time leaving. She was so precious and so happy. It is so hard to imagine that someone could not want someone so beautiful and so innocent as this little baby. I heard tonight that during our break when we didn’t come, the orphanage got a baby that was three days old. He was found in a dumpster. A few days later he died. My heart is broken for the children with no hope. I still feel that God may have something in my future with homeless children...in some way, shape, or form.
Sorry to end on a sad note...I just wanted you to know where my heart is. I am thankful that I get to be a part of something like this and finally feel like I'm here to do more than teach.
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