The thought of trying to catch up on blogs over the last 2 weeks has got me feeling a bit overwhelmed…so instead I’m just going to tell you about today, and another time I will catch you up (promise!)
Today Alex was gone for the whole day so I was on my own. (Well, as much on your own as you can be in a house full of kids….the primary kids – Robert, David, Mansen, Johnson, Lemukol and even Jacob from senior, were all home today.)
My days start almost the same every day now – the boys start making their way in one by one, someone starts some music, the move around, preparing for school (around 615am). I usually get a knock on my door around 650am from someone needing something – whether pills, lotion, pens, etc. I drag myself out of bed (the rats have me getting less sleep that I’d prefer lol) and then I am up.
Right now we have 2 boys on medication – One for Typhoid and a parasites and another is on anti-biotics. I give them their pills, as well as their lunch time ones and head back to my room to check my email…slowly my rooms starts to fill with secondary boys combing their hair using my mirror, asking to use my lotion (yes, they like twilight woods best!) and making sure that they look ‘smart’ before they head off to school. Today they have 3 exams, then 1 more tomorrow, and they are off for 1 month of holidays!
After saying goodbye to the senior boys I take my bible to the outside couch/bed and drink my tea.
Then the excitement begins, I am sure that I heard rats AGAIN in my closet last night, so I ask Robert to look. He calls Mansen and together they begin to search through my things. Just as they’re about to give up and they call me back into the room, they spot 2! They catch one and bring it outside, laughing and screaming and calling another boy who is still sleeping to come and help. Unfortunately that one gets away, so they head back for the next one. This one is not so fortunate, they manage to kill it (I wont mention how) and dispose of it. Victory! Lol. And on that note, I have found a cat named Rue, who will be coming to live here shortly. Does anyone have any advice for me.. I am NOT a cat person, but I prefer them over rats!
Anyways, after this excitement Robert and I head into town to go visit some old friends at welcome home, as well as another friend in town. Can I mention that on Wednesday it rained most of the afternoon (which as far as I know is pretty unusual around here) so the road to town was pretty muddy and bumpy. On top of that I was in a skirt, it was the boda driver, then Robert, and then me sitting sideways. Needless to say I think I will have bruises on my hip in the morning from not quite fitting onto the seat like I should going up and down bumpy roads!
The afternoon was fairly calm, I did some work with the younger kids, and printed off some colouring pages for them to practice drawing and colouring. The 2 girls from across the road have been here almost every day and they coloured some princess pictures for me to hang on my wall J
Robert, 2 of the girls and I went for a walk in the evening and had fun chatting , picking flowers and taking pictures.
Thursday nights (and Tuesday nights) are devotions nights. This week it was Jacob’s turn and he spoke on Malachi 3:6,7. He did a great job reading and sharing what this verse meant to him, and then the rest of the boys took turns sharing their thoughts.
Most of the boys head off to bed/do revising in their own rooms at this time… (we eat around 845, then devos at 915, so its usually around 10). Tonight one of the boys was sitting alone on the couch and I went and sat with him and asked him if he was ok. This is the boy who will notice when I am feeling sad or frustrated and always ask me the same thing, but today it was my turn. At first he said no, he was fine, but surprisingly shortly after a few moments of silence he opened up to say that he was missing his mother and father. We are planning to take him back the village he grew up in soon to see what family is around (he thinks maybe a jaja, sister and auntie). I’m guessing that thoughts of going back to find family are making him think about what he has lost. It was a hard conversation to have, and tears were shed, and unfortunately another boy came in and took over the conversation, but he said we would talk more about it tomorrow..so please pray for me to know the words to say!
Sometimes living at The Sanctuary is hard. I often find myself in the middle of conversations (or arguments) where I have no idea what is going on because of the language barrier. But, when moments like this happen, and I get the chance to be there for the boys, I know why God has called me here. There are moments when I feel so lost and unsure of what I am doing here, but I know that I am where God has called me to be, and I am humbled to be given the opportunity to be in this position. Please continue praying for me as I struggle to know my role here at The Sanctuary, and to know how to be there in a way that each of the boys need.
Love you all, and will soon catch you up on my recent trip to Masese (the local village, and seeing Moses!)
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