Two weekends ago, we had the privilege of spending the entire weekend
with the kids at Father's House. As far as I know, it was the first
time for most of them to spend the night somewhere outside their own
home. We were able to give their mother, Mary, a break for the weekend
as we cooked the meals, provided them with showers, and kept them
entertained with hula hoops, jump ropes, crafts, skits, etc.
We
made a set schedule for how the weekend would go, but most of our plans
didn't even work out. Everything actually worked out better than
anything we could have written down on a calendar. The kids had a blast
with just the toys we had brought. We didn't have to create a game or
anything. They were pretty good at making their own entertainment and
making the rest of us laugh.
The kids really make you
think about what really is important in life. For instance, shower time
seemed to be one of their favorite times. Mary usually has to fill up
water buckets between 1 and 2 am, when the water is working, and the
kids then take showers using the water in the buckets. The fact that
they got to dance around in the shower, with consistently warm water,
was exciting. They find the most joy in the smallest things. In reality,
that is how each of us should view life.
My favorite
part of the weekend was hearing their beautiful voices as we sang praise
songs in the car and at church. Little Takunda, who is 8 years old, is a
natural born worship leader. He loves to lead the other kids in song
and he has such an amazing voice. He has the ability to bring tears to
your eyes. All of the kids were given the opportunity to sing Light of
the World in front of the River of Life congregation. It was a blessing
to be able to stand along side them and sing with them. Seeing Mary's
face afterwards was the most rewarding part.
The
entire weekend was a blessing. Unfortunately it went by so quickly. I am
continually learning more from the kids than they are learning from me.
They teach me how to be joyful in every situation and to be grateful
for everything I have. Sometimes God teaches you some of the most
important things using the smallest and most gentle of people.
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| Ruthless concert with the kids |
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| Sweet Juliet |
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| Sandra and Panashe fell asleep in the car ride home. |
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| Me and Juliet |
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| Takunda jumping rope |
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| Playing on the boat. |
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| Panashe performing for the boat crew. |
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| David and Goliath skit. So cute! |
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| Practicing Light of the World for church |
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| Panashe and Takunda, two peas in a pod |
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| Playing on the trampoline at the Putt-Putt place |
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| Waiting for dinner |
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| Evening braai |
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Sunday afternoon pizza lunch and end of the weekend
For more photos, details, and different perspectives please visit my team members' blogs. We did take a trip to Hwange National Park, Victoria Falls, and Antelope Park. I'm just running out of the time I have on the internet today, so I'm not going to be able to post anything. If you're on facebook though, you can look at my photos. Otherwise, here are the links to the other blogs in case you missed them the last time:
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