Always love the weekends!

Another wonderful weekend. We played all afternoon on Saturday with the kids. This guy, Nicholas, fell asleep outside the window where the music was. The ground isn’t a preferable pillow, but who can argue with a kid and where he wants to fall asleep! Then Milkah was getting her hair undone and ready to be washed and plaited. I helped undo it and it’s a job! You use a thorn from the bushes and slowly undo the braids. But then she had big hair and we teased her all afternoon! She makes me feel at home because she’s the only one around here who gets sarcasm and can give it right back. Chuck had a little powwow with the boys, so with this picture I also got the progress of the building. They are getting it ready to pour the cement next week. Then we prepared for movie night. We watched Shrek and they all loved it. But they are asking for another movie like the “Sassy” movie (Homeward Bound). I do have one so maybe next Saturday. This week we had sodas and chips for a change instead of popcorn. The projector is working great! And now they anticipate a movie every Saturday night. I’m not sure what will happen when we leave; I guess I’ll try to teach someone how to plug everything in in the right order. With the power converter and everything it's a little more involved than just plugging stuff in.

Then on Sunday teacher Evelyn came to school with us (she is Pauline’s niece and lives with them) and had a guidance and counseling session with the girls. She’s calling it GTGT (Girl to Girl Talk). I sat in and it lasted about 4 hours! Imagine, girls sitting that long listening to issues about menstruation, boys, their bodies, respect (I have to admit, Aretha Franklin’s song went through my head) and many other issues. The girls had some interesting questions and they are being encouraged to think for themselves, work hard on their studies and to make good choices. I liked Evelyn and teacher Jane (who is the matron and lives in the dorms with the kids) encouraging the girls to talk to them and bring up any questions they may have. Many of the girls are very shy, but with constant encouragement they will begin to feel comfortable coming to them with their issues. This was the first session and they plan on having it once a month. Evelyn said she would try to have Chuck talk at the next meeting so they could have a man’s perspective on how they should be treated as young women and what they should consider when thinking about having a boyfriend. Before leaving Chuck had one of the boys, Moses, get on the roof to retrieve the Frisbee. When he came down off the roof he pushed himself off and started to go backwards. Chuck had a hold of his feet but they both went over backwards and landed on the hard ground. Thank God there wasn’t a rock behind them! Chuck stayed on the ground for a few minutes but Moses bounced up and said he was alright. I’m sure Chuck will be sore tomorrow! Then we walked back home with Evelyn, had dinner and some good conversation with Pauline. She is a very insightful woman and I love hearing her examples to make lessons real-to-life. Except she started an example of saying “when you separate rice from the stones”, but then laughed because I had told her before that we don’t have to do that at home. It all comes pre-packaged and separated. So she had to think of another example. I’m so thankful for the family that God brought us to here in Tala. He knows all of us so well and brought us together for His purpose. Thank you for your prayers and continued support.