Today we spent the whole morning in the village. First we did some chores around the Bruski mini village. I painted a goose pen with Ransley and Riley (from Statesboro). I am more than twice their age but we had such a fun time dodging geese and accidentally covering ourselves in red paint while we chatted about Disney movies and I deemed their list of viewed movies HIGHLY unacceptable. They hadn't seen so many that I demanded they fill in their Disney gaps ASAP. I'm sure they listened ;-)
After a couple hours of work the Sintelec kids came for their weekly play time/bible time. During the school year they have Club 127 where they do bible study and verse memorization. During the summer they come to hang out and play and see the presentation that the mission teams bring. Since they were coming again the next day we decided to save our skit for the next day and have a spa day with the girls while the boys played and did manly things like soccer and frisbee.
As a mama of boys I was really excited to have a morning full of girly fun, but there were a few boys who needed hair cuts and since I am a mama of boys I offered up my scissor skills. I ended up cutting 7 boys hair and it was a lot of fun. I've never seen a little boy sit that still, ever! I took GREAT joy in chopping off the rat tail of one of them and another even gave me one of his bracelets and a big hug with an English thank you on the side.
As fun and carefree as the morning was, was as fun but heavy as the afternoon was. We spent the afternoon at the Adapost, which is a short term government run foster care facility, and the orphanage that is just across the fence. It is impossible to not be affected by these circumstances and these children. I played and watched and saw smiles but for every smile I saw there were equal amounts of tears, fears, and interactions that make you all to certain of the things that go on that nobody catches.
There were four siblings that had just in the past week been moved from the Adapost to the orphanage. They were full of smiles and so smart and it crushed my heart. So many children and so many chances to for hard things to happen. I wanted to just take them and protect them and let them feel completely loved and completely safe and completely welcomed. But this is where my heart has to trust that God sees them and is holding them fast. Trust that there are glimpses of hope in the midst of the unbearable hard, like the new administrator of the orphanage who genuinely wants the well being of the children and is bringing to light the way the government lacks in their care for the facility or the fact that Lanie is right now building a small orphanage on the Bruski's property and is only $40,000 away from being able to provide a different future for some of those children.
God is able to do all things and He loves to allow us to be a part of that. What is He asking us to do?
Our evening ended with a big family style pizza dinner at a local restaurant. It seems wrong to leave such a situation and enjoy a delicious dinner when we were leaving precious ones who would go to bed with growling tummies after their meager meal. But it also seems right to enjoy the fellowship of others and be reminded of what God intended community to be, a sharing of our time, talents, and love with others despite age, ethnicity, and backgrounds. One day there will be a new world and I will be feasting with all the precious faces I have seen because of the savior we have in common.
Praise God for that promise of Hope!
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