Johnny is almost six years old according to his case history and has been at Bangla Hope since he was about 10months old. His mother Reba has a mental illness and as she was on her way to another village to visit her sister, she left Johnny under a banyan tree. From what the file says, that was the last time Johnny or his father saw her. A man found the crying baby and took him home--Johnny was later claimed by his father after days of searching villages. The father couldn't take care of him though, so Johnny went to live with the sister-in-law for awhile. But she also wasn't able to take care of him so she contacted Bangla Hope.
I'm not sure what to think about Johnny. It's really as if he has a split personality--well maybe most kids do. They are little angels but suddenly will turn into stubborn, nonresponsive little demons. I know though, that when he is in a good mood, he is a really sweet little boy. I haven't taught him in any classes but he is outgoing and good-natured most of the time. I'm really hoping that with a little discipline, he will develop into a great little kid. Like I said, he has a great personality most of the time, but then slips into the darkest of moods, seemingly for no reason.Ahhh the fourth commandment. The license to rest. I love it. That was the topic for my Sabbath School today but it's hard to get the kids too jazzed about it since Sabbath isn't very different than the rest of the week, aside from church and no school. Plus you get to wear pretty dresses. Okay, I retract my previous statement lol. Josiah delivered an incredible message about Hosea and the wife God instructed him to marry. It really made me think about how I am with God...
After church, NOT including a nap unfortunately, we all headed back to Branch Sabbath School. Last Sabbath, there were 97 mothers and children colouring pictures of Jesus. This week we had about half that number for some reason. The wind had picked up and was swirling dust like crazy and it was really really really hot out... Maybe that was it. Nonetheless, I told the parable of the lost sheep. I was really happy afterwards when Josiah complimented me by saying that I tell stories really well. I've never thought of myself as a storyteller but with these kids, it's easy to give myself over to doing big gestures, changing my voice, and really getting involved in the story. I really took that compliment to heart :)
After BSS, we ate dinner, wayyy too much dinner because Shati cooks SO well. Then we all piled into the back of the truck and headed to SAMS to see their campus. SAMS (or Seventh-day Adventist Maranatha Seminary) is a boarding school about half an hour from the orphanage and currently has about 800 students. It's actually quite incredible! The campus has full dorms, cafeteria, church building, high school and elementary buildings, and even 33 computers in a lab to teach kids practical skills. Shati's daughter Martina goes there so we were able to say hi to her as well.
I was just impressed that so many kids are there! That's like double the student population at CUC and half of the WWU campus. Plus, each kid is sponsored to be there so they don't have to pay for anything. They get a place to say, food to eat, an education, and an opportunity to learn about God. It's amazing how God blesses isn't it?
Anyways, I'm pretty tired from the day so I'm going to bed. I didn't sleep well last night because so many thoughts were rolling in my head: how to get all my stuff back home without lugging it around Asia, all the projects that need to be finished asap, Walla Walla, and a ton of other things keeping me awake until 2am. *yawn
ami tomake bhalobashi
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