Today was a glorious day!

However it didn't start out that way. The rest of the team was supposed to go on a field trip today and I was going to stay back at our compound to work on some online exams. However, fifteen minutes after they left they came walking back in the door saying "we got to our field trip and found out it was cancelled, so we are having class in 30 minutes."

Instantly my attitude was just extremely negative. I had my day figured out, I was going to catch up on work and now we were going to have class and a activity in the afternoon. I am not good at hiding how I'm feeling, the emotion just seems to wear itself on my face, in the furrow of my forehead, in the glare of my eyes, I'm my mother's daughter:)

So I went to class, tried positive self talk for a while, but the negativity stuck with me for the most part. We ate lunch and took a quick trip to the market for a couple items in town. When we got back we got ready for a trip to the village that is set just behind our compound. I wasn't looking forward to this because of the numerous things on my to do list, but I had wanted to visit that village for a while because of the kids that go to our church who live out there.

As we walked across the land between our home and theirs we began to hear squeels and laughter. Children were excited! They ran into the girls arms infront of me and instantly befriended us. A little girl named Ivy let me hold her and carry her for a while before I jumped into a riveting game of soccer.

In the middle of our soccer game I saw a little boy pushing a metal rim, from a car or motorcycle, rolling it in the middle of the game. One of the older boys scooted the boy off the field and showed him where he could play. I decided I was going to make friends with him. So I took the medal rim and rolled it to the boy, who without a smile or comment picked it up and rolled it back to me. We probably played this game for 30 or 45 minutes, and during this time I couldn't help but think back to the one child I bonded with the most in Kenya 6 years ago, his name was Mato, but that is another story.

After a while Prof. Lovett asked us if we'd like to go further into the village. I put my arms down to the small boy and asked if he wanted to come with me. Whether he understood me or not I'm not sure, however I picked him up and he held onto me if I tried to put him down so I assumed that meant he wanted to go with me. His clothes were dirty, his nose runny, I had to use his shirt to wipe some of the mucous away. As we stood and talked to some of the villagers he started to lean his head on my shoulder and before long had become dead weight in my arms, sleeping like a rock. Oh there is no greater feeling than to hold a small life in my hands that is trusting me that I will take care of them and love them. I savored those moments with the precious child up until it was time I had to give him back to his family.

I forgot about my bad attitude at the end of it. I had the time of my life rolling an old motorcycle rim with a boy who wouldn't talk or smile and fell asleep in my arms. I hope I can hold more of those babies and pray that someday they will know the face of our savior.

Thank you Jesus for that precious boys life, please protect him and use him for your kingdom in a mighty way, Amen.