Getting to know the kids

I spent almost my whole day today playing with the kids and getting to know them. They are absolutely awesome kids! You can see how much each of them appreciate being here in this safe, clean place. I don't know all of their stories, but the ones I do know are absolutely devastating. So many of the children here know more and have seen more death in their short little lives than any of us could imagine in a whole lifetime. But you would be so amazed at how happy and resilient they are! I have the coolest video in the world of a couple of the girls singing a South African praise song and another of two little girls singing "Jesus Loves Me". They can't get enough of seeing themselves on our cameras and in videos. They'll sing, dance, jump up and down... you name it, they'll do it to get on camera. It's hilarious!

I was a little disappointed this morning when we divided up the work plans and I wasn't going to be doing any physical labor. But as soon as I started playing with the kids, I was no longer disappointed at all. They were so much fun and so happy to have more American friends. They love it when teams come in and work for a couple of weeks so they have more people to play with them. We played tag, we played basketball, baseball, jumped on the trampoline, swam in the pool, played UNO, put together puzzles, and the list could go on and on. So even though I wasn't tearing down walls, tacking down carpet, or any other hard labor, I am exhausted tonight! No wonder kids sleep so well, being a kid is tiring!

That has been today's greatest gift... getting to be a kid again.

"Today is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. Today is the day the Lord has made and I won't worry about tomorrow, I'm living for today. This is the day!"

-Lincoln Brewster (Today is the Day)