Let me rewind for a second: after breakfast we stood on the balcony and did a learning activity called "Listening Prayer". This is when you clear your mind to let God speak to you and you simply: listen. The activity was to line up half of us with eyes closed and line the other half in front of us. The person with their eyes closed was supposed to do this prayer exercise for the person (whom they couldn't see) and share what they hear. I, being the skeptical guy that I am, am not necessarily sure that I bought completely into this...but what came to my mind was: Resilience, Compassion, Strength - to which the person in front of me, Hope, said she prayed for 2 of this morning. Then we switched roles and I had a girl, Megan, standing in front of me with eyes closed. She said she saw the words "patience" and "persistence" for me. She also said she saw a small child kicking a soccer ball. I happened to have a soccer jersey on and was playing with my 2 girls with the soccer balls last week before packing them.
So, did that make me fully buy into it? Probably not...but it did make me aware that sometimes instead of talking to God or requesting from Him, perhaps listen and be observant of his presence.
So, after the project we went to the orphanage for about a 15 minute walk through the rock roads of our neighborhood. As soon as we walked in we were immediately swarmed by orphaned kids. From ages of 2mo's old, to 12 & 13 years, they ranged and numbered of about 60 kids. I sat on a bench to have 3 wide eyed, loving, needing boys (about 3, 7, 10) hugging on me. The 7 year old sat on my lap and appeared to have an eye cold. He was so sweet and became territorial of me from then-on. The oldest stood behind me, trying to practice some English & my name. He absolutely loved running his fingers through my head. He would occasionally rest his head on my shoulder and say "Sean?"..."yes, Sean", I'd reply...to which he'd say: "I love you". Warmed my heart beyond words. The 3 year old had only a shirt on and sat next to me, snuggling up against my arm. I was sweating soooooo much....literally dripping off my chin at times. The place was a court yard with a tarp over it and some bench seating. The kids were dirty...the place was dirty...it was crazy-hot..and I was in HEAVEN! These face - the genuine nature of their spirits. The 7 year old on my lap kept taking my hand and bringing it across his chest to hug him tighter. These kids needed affection...love. They were curious and honest. As you could guess, they had to nearly drag me out of there. I didn't want to leave. This is where I feel the strongest gravitational pull. They were all outside and I was the last to leave, needing someone to grab me.
I'm sorry to say that this is where I think I start to distance from this type of group a bit. I never want to point out someone else's priorities but, for me: that orphanage should be #1. Here is a place to make an immediate impact. Instead of diversifying the mission, I think it should be focused and concentrated on particular areas. doing bible study and evangelizing has it's importance - but, to me, there is no greater gift than to come down from our perch and be amongst these people---not isolating ourselves in preparation for the next agenda to mark off. (just my $0.02)
Oh yea, forgot to mention...the kids absolutely LOVE the game "hot hands"...it's apparently a big deal! lol :-P
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