It's amazing how this journey has already opened up conversations.... a few days ago I was at the post office mailing some paperwork to our adoption agency. The woman behind the counter took my envelope, looked at it, paused and then apologized for being nosy, but asked if I was adopting. She shared that she was also looking to adopt with her husband but wasn't sure about being able to afford it and really wasn't sure how the whole process worked. We talked for a little bit about it and she asked me to keep coming back to that post office so that I could keep her updated! Love it.
While Brian is in Orlando this weekend performing the wedding of two of his former students, (Congratulations Seth and Stephanie!!!), I had a visit from two of my former Student Venture girls, Emily and Rachel...who, I hesitate to admit this....were also in my fourth and fifth grade classes when I taught elementary school. Did I mention they are now juniors in college????? Jeesh.
For those of you who have ever done student ministry, you understand that you rarely see the fruit of your investment of time and energy with kids until years later. This was one of those weekends though, where I left my time with Emily and Rachel refreshed and encouraged. These girls live with a vision that is so much bigger than themselves, so much bigger than their course schedule, and so much greater than their weekend plans. I am humbled and challenged by it. Both Rachel and Emily have such a heart for serving and caring for others. They have both already spent time in Africa on mission trips and are looking to head overseas again this summer to serve.
We spent Saturday morning at the Gibbs Village housing project in Montgomery hanging out with the kids. I absolutely loved the fact that Rachel and Emily were willing to go with me and that we were able to serve together! It rained most of the morning, so we weren't sure how many kids would show up around lunch, but about fifty showed up to play football, eat pizza, and do a craft. It is such a privilege to be able to spend some time each month with these kids; hugging them, telling them are loved, playing sports with them and just holding their hands. Most of them come from a one parent family where the father is either absent or in prison or they are being raised by their extended family. Each month that we come back you can see the trust that is growing in their eyes for us. I love watching the 5-10 year old boys with some of the men that volunteer. They respect them, they listen to them, and they want their approval. They are SO in need of affection, affirmation, and love-....as all of us are....
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| Emily helping Kimberly with her craft. |
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| Emily, Rachel, and 6 year old D.J. |
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| Helping KeKe and her sister D, with their craft |
Now, Martha Stewart I am not, but since Rachel is an art major and Emily has an amazing eye for design we decided to be a little crafty last night- we concocted some homemade ornaments...
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| We used some paint and a little water for the middle ornament and did that design inside the ornament..... looks great, right????? Unfortunately, we have not yet figured out the technique for actually getting the paint to stay in place and actually dry. The next morning it was in a blob at the bottom of the ornament.... Any suggestions? |
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