This past week has been an interesting one, in that our schedule was completely disrupted by a funeral in our village. We arrived back from midway retreat on Monday afternoon to a yard-full of kids, which was awesome! Even though we were only gone 2 days, the children were so happy to have us back and welcomed us with tons of hugs and smiles :) Tuesday we were able to have a normal day with tutoring and devotions but that night we received news that an elderly woman in the village had died. When this happens in African culture, the whole village shuts down; it's pretty much like a snow day in GA, well like a snow storm. All organized activities were cancelled, children were asked to stay indoors, no singing (which is huge here; everyone sings. seriously.)... pretty much had to maintain a somber environment. And everyone in the village is required to visit the home for an extended amount of time (like hours) and come to the burial. If not, it is highly looked down upon... you look very uncaring. The funeral requirements lasted until Saturday AM, when everything went back to normal. It was so weird to me at first to think about this. There is no way in America that this would ever happen! Funerals are meant for family and friends; here, even if you didn't know the person, yet lived in the same area, you went to their funeral. But then I thought about Romans 12:15 when Paul was talking about loving others..."Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn." When I went into the home of the woman who died, I kept repeating this verse over and over. Although this was strange, different from my culture, and I was completely out of my comfort zone, I thought it was fantastic because I was able to show these people love by being able to mourn with them. This was so significant because.... we could not speak the same language. It was incredibly encouraging to think that God's love has no boundaries, not even language! Even though I was frustrated with how the funeral messed up our opportunities to be with the kids, especially with only 3 weeks left, God surprised me with this little life lesson :) lol.
We are experiencing some "new" interactions with the kids this weeks as well. It has come to our attention that our kids are not as angelic as we think.... it is easy to forget that they are sinners too and still understanding what their faith is when living in a Christian environment. Comfortablity is begining to sink in and with that, the veil has been lifted and they are no longer poor, needy orphans who can do no wrong. They are normal children who are going through normal, sinful behavior. My prayer is that we can continue to love them how God calls us to whatever that is. I'm still figuring it out. Though my time here is getting shorter by the day, I will continue to persevere because that is what God is calling me to do. "Let hold unswearvingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us spur on toward love and good deeds....So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised." Hebrews 10: 23-24;35-36. Pray for the softening of these kids hearts and the penetration of God's word. Also be praying that we can continue our service with the same zeal and enthusiasm we had during our first weeks here; may we take one day at a time and finish strong!
As for healing in our group, continue to pray for that.... there seems to be a cold going around and some stomach viruses as well. Jessica's leg is healed up... no more staff infection! Great answer to prayer! We are still in need of sponsors for the twin boys waiting to come into Chiwengo. Continue prayer in this area as well.
Hope life back in the states is wonderful for everyone and that the summer has been amazingly fun! Heard Lindsey Lohan is in jail again.... uh oh lol gotta love celebrity dirt. We should pray for her too :)
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