Day 6 - 3/2/2012

Pick Up Trip – Day 6 – 3/2/2012

We really needed a day to just sit around and let the kids play and rest.  The last three days had been tiring for us, but especially for them.  Today we decided just to stay at the home and then take the girls over to get their hair done.  We wanted t o wait until the end of the week so that their hair wouldn’t be all messed up for when we traveled home.

Brandie and Shandi took Brinley and Mighty over to the hairdresser’s place around noon.  We knew it would be an all-daylong deal since all three of the girls had such thick hair.  I kept the boys and just stayed at the home to let them play with the kids, help them with their chores, and introduce them to new games while I finished thinking through and trying to write my feelings of the preceding day’s trip to the village.

Tyson continues to crack me up.  If it weren’t for his pale white skin one would think he was a true African.  He has completely embraced this people and their culture.  He loves to hail the taxis, go to the corner for anything to buy, and talk to anyone who will give him an ear to bend.  This morning we were standing on the second story balcony of the hotel and I heard a “ssssssst” sound, which is the noise in Ghana to get someone’s attention.  I looked up at Tyson and saw him calling the man from across the street selling ice cream.  He wanted to buy ice cream but wasn’t allowed to walk across the street alone so he figured he’d get the guy to come to him.  It was funny.

There really isn’t anything that stood out too much to me today as being a ‘big’ deal.  One cool thing was when we headed to our local eating spot for lunch Tyson asked if Peter (his new best buddy) could come with us.  I didn’t see an issue with it, but I double-checked with John.  On the way to the restaurant I asked Peter if he’d ever been to eat out.  He looked at the floor and half embarrassed said, “no.”  I was happy that we could take this great boy with us.  He’s such a good boy and hasn’t had his chance to be a family’s center of attention.  Since he’d never been before some of the simple habitual we do were completely foreign to him.  He didn’t know there were choices of food to eat.  In fact, when I asked him what he would like it nearly paralyzed him.  He sat quietly thinking through his options and finally came to the decision that nearly all of these kids choose – chicken and fried rice.  He tried to hide the smile that was creeping onto his face, but it finally wiggled its way through his lips.  He was so excited!

When the food arrived he just sat there looking at it – again, not knowing what to do.  When I finally noticed he was just sitting there I told him to eat and he jumped in excitedly.  Now, this small boy could have eaten half of a cow – they have an amazing way of putting away food.  However, for some reason he only ate almost exactly half of the dish and then stopped.   When I asked him if he was full he just sat there.  I studied his face intently trying to decipher what he was doing.  Finally he said, “No I want to take it home and give to my friends.”  This NEVER ceases to completely amaze me.  Here you have a boy who probably has never had a full belly for one whole day in his entire life.  Yes, he’s fed well at the home now, but because of the budget constraints John has to work with most of the food is rice and beans – which burn off quickly.  So in my mind, it would be completely reasonable – even expected – for the boy at his first big meal to completely devour everything.  And yet, he did just the opposite.  He ate until he was satisfied and then thought of the others.  I was again humbled and amazed.  When we arrived back at the home he quickly disappeared into his room with some of his closest friends.  It was humbling to be a witness of this special form of godliness.

I will say this in closing…I started to realize that when we leave it will certainly be difficult on all of us, but I really think Tyson and Brinley will suffer the most pain.  They’ve developed a special bond with these children and love being around them.  I think it’s because anytime we’ve been in the home we’re able to catch a little glimpse of exactly how Christ feels for these kids.  It’s really strange.  No, the walls and grounds are not clean – they’re tidy for sure, especially for having 35 kids in the home – but yet the spirit never ceases to testify the love that God and Jesus Christ have for these children…of this I’m absolutely convinced.  I’ve talked with our kids about this and hope they’ll always remember the feelings they’ve had here.  I don’t know what they’ll be able to do with – but there is a reason they’ve been blessed with this experience and when the time comes to call upon what they’ve learned – I pray to God they will have the courage to rise to the occasion. 

Until tomorrow…