Desculpe (that's sorry in portuguese)

so apparently i am horrible at this blog stuff!  the past few weeks have been quite a journey of faith.  i am going to south africa this weekend and will write a proper blog with an update on what the Lord has been doing.  

i LOVE these boys!!!

"There are days when I don’t think I can make it for another moment, and then I build myself up in the Lord by remembering all he has done, and by looking into the eyes of a precious child redeemed by His love whom I have the privilege of holding in my arms. "  - Heidi Baker

last friday, my roommate, erin, and i took my 8 boys out to dinner in the city, to ride bumper cars, and for ice cream.  the bumper cars were definitely the best part!  the smiles on their faces were so beautiful as they chose which color car they wanted to drive and sat waiting for the cars to start up.  it was another one of those moments where i felt so blessed that the Lord has chosen me to be here and to love them.

Dorm Snack

Every Sunday night I give snack to the 36 boys in my dorm.  This past week we made Rice Krispie treats!  I had some of the boys come in a couple at a time and let each group make a pan of Rice Krispies.  

They buttered the pans:

Melted the marshmallows:

And ate the leftovers!!!

Note to self:  Rice Krispie treats require rapid preparation because they start to harden really quick. . . maybe not the best baking to include the boys in!  

Go Carts!

A group of visitors from South Africa came all prepared to build go carts with a couple of our boys dorms.  The boys had a blast helping construct the cars, painting them, and coming up with names.  On Friday afternoon, everyone gathered on the football field for the big race...Mamba vs. Dodge.  And Dodge won it!!!

 

Yay for Visitors

This week we've had a wonderful group of visitors here from South Africa.  Today, they led my dorm in hours of games!!!  Three legged race, wheel barrel race, water balloon toss, water relay, finding candy in flour, bobbing for apples . . . tons of fun!!!  The boys love having special things to do in the afternoons as hours on the playground day after day gets a little old.  

Gone Again

Brooke and I planned on taking Gaspar to visit Zacarius and his mom today but one of the older youth informed me last night that he had seen him on the street yesterday.  So instead, Brooke and I went to the city to look for him with the help of Ernesto, one of the Iris youth.  We drove up and down the 25th of September stopping at all the spots where street kids hang out and asking groups of boys if they knew Zacarius and had seen him.  No luck.

Gaspar had come with us so we went ahead and drove to his mom's house, all the while praying that somehow Zacarius had gone back home.  Sadly, he wasn't there.  We visited with Gaspar's aunt and his little brother, Dodo, for a while.  A few other kids from surrounding houses came out to play with the random white girls too!  Gaspar's mom had gone to the market.  We waited for her to return for a long time but she never did.   A new KFC has opened in Matola, near their house so we took Gaspar, his aunt, and Dodo out for lunch.  We bought some take away for them to take back for Gaspar's mom as well.  

It was a good visit but I was very sad that Zacarius wasn't there.  He apparently ran away on Thursday or Friday.  I don't think I'll ever understand what it is about the streets that is so alluring to him.  There is a big youth service in the city on Monday nights and  Zacarius always comes when he's on the streets because he knows he'll find me there.  So tomorrow I'll be looking for him . . . and praying he'll agree to go back home again.

Brothers Reunited!

I'm sure you all remember my blogs about the 2 boys who were living on the streets - Gaspar and Zacarius.  Gaspar is living here at the center.  Zacarius was taken back home by his father only to run away again and live on the streets for a couple of months before he would all me to take him back to his mom.  Since taking Zacarius home, Brooke (my amazing friend from New Zealand who works here at the center with me) and I have been going to visit him every couple of weeks.  Last week, when we went to visit, we took Gaspar with us.  It was so cute to watch him reunite with his brother after not having seen him for months!  Gaspar enjoyed seeing his family so much that he wants to spend a weekend with them.  I'm going to take him this Saturday and pick him up again Sunday afternoon.  Hopefully these visits will become more and more regular and in a few months, their mom will be able to have both of her boys back at home with her!!!

This is a family portrait:  Gaspar, Zacarius, their mom, and DoDo, their baby brother.