6-1-14 Journal Entry Day Two
There were so many moments today that I'm sure to be out of order at some point. Right now it is 6:15 p.m. and I'm sitting on the covered deck. Dinner is about to start. I'm waiting for the cooks to be finished so that I can use the gas stove for my meal. Tonight for me is rice, peas and carrots.
As I look over the deck I see two children walking along a dusty, course pebbled path. One girl has a 5 gallon bucket carried on her head She looks about 6 or 7 years old. I wonder if she is going to get water for her dinner preparations.
Back to the start of the day...after breakfast we traveled about 1/2 hour to a church in the town of Lanzac. One of the room parents of Alex's House is the pastor at that church. Along the way I saw goats, donkeys, and baby horses. As we got more into a town area I saw a girl, maybe 10 years old, walking down the side of the street. She was wearing a brilliant white dress that almost glowed from the many colors of the street around her. She stood out like an angel. The young girl was carrying a book clasped in front of her, I assumed her Bible, and that was going to a church service near by.
At the church - it was a pavilion looking building with sides from tin and tarps. The alter/stage area had sheer decorative curtains as a back-drop. Alternating yellow and white paper chain-links swagged from the ceiling beams. They were near perfectly cut strips of paper. Oh, the things I notice! On the other beams hung white ribbon with sliver edging. They were tied and curled at the ends for decoration. In the center of the ceiling was a beach ball. It looked like that anyway. It was a decoration too.
We packed our own plastic lawn chairs from Alex's House to bring with us in the truck. The guys unloaded the chairs and set us up in the back right of the church.
The service was much singing, clapping, and praying. Several men took turns speaking. All in Creole so I had no idea what was being said. One man I could understand was teaching them about brushing their teeth. I only knew by his hand gestures. He showed the people how to brush and told them to brush twice a day. he also told them to take 'vitamin C' and that was in English, "vitamin C."
We sang (well, I smiled and listened as it was in Creole) one song for 30 minutes straight while standing and clapping the entire time. It was awesome. No instruments at all, just the sounds of the people's voices singing out so loud for Jesus. Everyone stood and clapped. I think the service ended up being three hours. The singing was beautiful. They sang with all their hearts and very loud. A few hymnals were shared but everyone knew all the words to all the songs. Their voices just surround you in a fullness of tones and worship.
The pastor read from Hebrews 13:1-3 and in Matthew 8:14,15.
Hebrews 13:1-3 "Continue to love each other with true brotherly love. Don't forget to be kind to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! Don't forget about those in jail. Suffer with them as though you were there yourself. Share the sorrow of those being mistreated, for you know what they are going through."
At the side entrance of the church walked in a girl to the service. It was the girl in the white dress that I had seen down the road walking. It was really neat how I had noticed her before among all the many people on the street and then she came in to that very church.
At the end of the service we shook hands with the people and they thanked us for being there.
Back at Alex's House we settled in and had lunch. We worked on sorting the supplies we brought over from donations and we planned out the lessons for the week's Bible lessons.
We were able to go over to the orphanage and play with the children. At first it was a bit strange not to be able to speak their language at all, but we quickly found ways to get our point across. Much facial expressions, gestures, and showing things worked fine.
Willie is a little boy who came up to me and wanted held. We swirled around and tickled. He wore my sunglasses and thought that was funny. I raised him up to grab leaves from a tree and he gave them to me to put in my hair.
Today the Alex's House children (about 30) had their first English lesson. It was in the main dinning room area similar to a pavilion. We helped with come centers and games which was tons of fun to interact with the children. We sat and colored, traced hand-prints, and I helped one of the older boys study his English. He was studying his animal names as I would help pronounce the names then he would read the name and study it some more. He really wanted to learn and intently watched my mouth as I spoke. "Hippopotamus" was a difficult one, but he got it!
As the dinner bell rang for the orphanage we headed across the white pebbled alley to the guest house. It was about time for our dinner too.
Praising God and thanking Him is something I already see more of here. Everything that is given is such a blessing and a gift from God. We are to be grateful to receive it, not expectant as it is due to us, but grateful. I see that here and in the lives of the people around me.
There were so many moments today that I'm sure to be out of order at some point. Right now it is 6:15 p.m. and I'm sitting on the covered deck. Dinner is about to start. I'm waiting for the cooks to be finished so that I can use the gas stove for my meal. Tonight for me is rice, peas and carrots.
As I look over the deck I see two children walking along a dusty, course pebbled path. One girl has a 5 gallon bucket carried on her head She looks about 6 or 7 years old. I wonder if she is going to get water for her dinner preparations.
Back to the start of the day...after breakfast we traveled about 1/2 hour to a church in the town of Lanzac. One of the room parents of Alex's House is the pastor at that church. Along the way I saw goats, donkeys, and baby horses. As we got more into a town area I saw a girl, maybe 10 years old, walking down the side of the street. She was wearing a brilliant white dress that almost glowed from the many colors of the street around her. She stood out like an angel. The young girl was carrying a book clasped in front of her, I assumed her Bible, and that was going to a church service near by.
At the church - it was a pavilion looking building with sides from tin and tarps. The alter/stage area had sheer decorative curtains as a back-drop. Alternating yellow and white paper chain-links swagged from the ceiling beams. They were near perfectly cut strips of paper. Oh, the things I notice! On the other beams hung white ribbon with sliver edging. They were tied and curled at the ends for decoration. In the center of the ceiling was a beach ball. It looked like that anyway. It was a decoration too.
We packed our own plastic lawn chairs from Alex's House to bring with us in the truck. The guys unloaded the chairs and set us up in the back right of the church.
The service was much singing, clapping, and praying. Several men took turns speaking. All in Creole so I had no idea what was being said. One man I could understand was teaching them about brushing their teeth. I only knew by his hand gestures. He showed the people how to brush and told them to brush twice a day. he also told them to take 'vitamin C' and that was in English, "vitamin C."
We sang (well, I smiled and listened as it was in Creole) one song for 30 minutes straight while standing and clapping the entire time. It was awesome. No instruments at all, just the sounds of the people's voices singing out so loud for Jesus. Everyone stood and clapped. I think the service ended up being three hours. The singing was beautiful. They sang with all their hearts and very loud. A few hymnals were shared but everyone knew all the words to all the songs. Their voices just surround you in a fullness of tones and worship.
The pastor read from Hebrews 13:1-3 and in Matthew 8:14,15.
Hebrews 13:1-3 "Continue to love each other with true brotherly love. Don't forget to be kind to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! Don't forget about those in jail. Suffer with them as though you were there yourself. Share the sorrow of those being mistreated, for you know what they are going through."
At the side entrance of the church walked in a girl to the service. It was the girl in the white dress that I had seen down the road walking. It was really neat how I had noticed her before among all the many people on the street and then she came in to that very church.
At the end of the service we shook hands with the people and they thanked us for being there.
Back at Alex's House we settled in and had lunch. We worked on sorting the supplies we brought over from donations and we planned out the lessons for the week's Bible lessons.
We were able to go over to the orphanage and play with the children. At first it was a bit strange not to be able to speak their language at all, but we quickly found ways to get our point across. Much facial expressions, gestures, and showing things worked fine.
Willie is a little boy who came up to me and wanted held. We swirled around and tickled. He wore my sunglasses and thought that was funny. I raised him up to grab leaves from a tree and he gave them to me to put in my hair.
Today the Alex's House children (about 30) had their first English lesson. It was in the main dinning room area similar to a pavilion. We helped with come centers and games which was tons of fun to interact with the children. We sat and colored, traced hand-prints, and I helped one of the older boys study his English. He was studying his animal names as I would help pronounce the names then he would read the name and study it some more. He really wanted to learn and intently watched my mouth as I spoke. "Hippopotamus" was a difficult one, but he got it!
As the dinner bell rang for the orphanage we headed across the white pebbled alley to the guest house. It was about time for our dinner too.
Praising God and thanking Him is something I already see more of here. Everything that is given is such a blessing and a gift from God. We are to be grateful to receive it, not expectant as it is due to us, but grateful. I see that here and in the lives of the people around me.
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