6.11.13

The moon and stars govern the night, for his love endures forever.

Psalm 136:9

Without air conditioning it is always a nice treat to sit on the balcony before bed.  There is a nice ocean breeze that helps you to cool off after a long, hot day.  Tonight I was noticing how in this city of over 2 million people, you can see the stars in the sky at night.  That is nearly impossible in Omaha, let alone a city at least five times its size. 

This was our first day here that there was no rain.  It rained a lot during the night, but none today.  One of the most refreshing things is a shower in the rain.  It is clean water and if you stand under the downspout it is just like a shower.  The only alternative is a bucket bath, which does about as good as no bath at all.  We have decided tonight that we will hold out hope for rain.

Today we spent all of our time at the center.  I got to observe in the different classrooms here at the center.  I was really excited to see what school was like here and how it is the same and different as back home.  I spent most of the time in a prep 4 and prep 5 classroom.  One of the teachers had called in sick so the class had no teacher.  An older student was working to instruct the students.  Some of the students were doing a really good job, but there were definitely some little boys in the class.  I was most excited when the other class was reviewing science for their big exam that’s coming up.  They were studying the four seasons and the teacher asked me to share about what the four seasons, especially winter, look like in Nebraska.  I asked them who would like to see snow someday and every hand went up.  They were trying to convince me to bring them some snow in a freezer!

We spent the rest of the afternoon working on building bunk beds.  It was a slow process with one power saw and what Trent considered to be one and a half hammers.  We got a lot of the wood cut and need to start sanding and constructing tomorrow.  It will be a chance for me to finally put my carpentry skills to good use.

These are the mattresses and mosquito nets we purchased with some of the money we raised…

The rest of the day was spent hanging and playing with the kids.  Kandeh is warming up to me and his sisters, Zainab and Isha are as well.  We gave him some bubbles. crayons and a coloring book.  He loved them!  He was so thrilled with such a simple gift.  I am really looking forward to getting to know him more the rest of the week.

They also really carry things on their heads.  Trent even gave it a try.  A quote from Trent: “This is really hard!”

Trent’s heart for the people here continues to inspire me.  The children at the orphanage are very blessed and fortunate all things considered.  We exchanged some money when we got here and just split it up evenly between the two of us.  Throughout the day yesterday, he gave it all away to people in the community.  This is the same guy, who as a little boy was very disappointed to find out he would have to spend his souvenir money on vacation to buy underwear because he had neglected to pack any.  He has also been giving some of his snacks he packed for our trip to a little boy who lives in a tin shack right outside of the center’s gates.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Trent were to give the shirt off his back to someone before we leave.  I am so thankful to have married a man with a heart for the Lord and compassion for others.

{The Launes}