“But he said to me, ‘My grace is
sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will
boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on
me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in
hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am
strong.”
-2 Corinthians 12:9-10
MORE EXCITING THINGS have happened this week at Sunrise!! The first thing is that Angel and Brodyn have arrived! They are getting adjusted, but the kids LOVE Brodyn. Pretty much everyone in the village has never seen a white kid before. He is quite the spectacle. The next exciting thing is we have accepted four new kids to Sunrise; 3 boys and 1 girl!!!!!! They are coming next Friday the 24. Things are progressing here at Sunrise, and it’s so awesome to see God move. Bibi Kay did a HUGE fundraiser at her church this last week. We don’t know the total numbers yet but about 220 people were there. It was a silent auction, and I am told that a very substantial amount of money came in; money that we desperately need.
I had my very first Tanzanian
outfit made, complete with a head wrap!! It’s something I would never in my
life wear outside of here, but it’s like their nicest item of clothing that
they wear. The total cost for fabric was 30,000tsh and to get it handmade for
me was 10,000tsh, for a grand total of $25. When Elia first saw me in it, he
just paused and slowly said, “You are beautiful.” It’s so great having kids to
compliment you all of the time! Quite a few blogs ago I mentioned that teachers can punish students by “beating” them. I always just thought this was like a spanking, and that was the best translation for it. I was at the school earlier this week and there was a young boy who was in trouble. The teacher took a stick and started hitting him with it, and he was crying and moved and she just hit the back of his legs. I think she hit him about three times, three time too many for me. I cringed and felt sick to my stomach, and if she had hit him anymore than that I am not sure what I would’ve done. I couldn’t believe what I had just seen and I still can’t. It fills me with so much anger and I am really struggling with this, this week. It was so hard to see it happen to a kid that I don’t even know, I couldn’t even imagine how I would feel if it was one of my kids. Priska, our special needs girl, came home from school. I was sitting on the floor in the dining room and she came to sit by me. She started to sit but then stood right back up. I asked her what was wrong and eventually got the story that she had been in trouble at school and got a beating. I almost lost it. How can anyone beat a child with a stick to the point that they cannot sit, and leave bruises? I then found out that it was from teacher that I know and am decent friends with, and I just lost so many degrees of respect for him. It’s so hard for me to wrap my mind around this, and even harder for me to accept it as something that “is what it is.” I just can’t see what makes this type of punishment okay. Spanking is one thing, at least you can gauge how hard you are hitting, but with a stick… I have been praying all week about this, because I don’t want to be angry about it. I have very strong opinions about this topic but I live in this village and I have to go about things in an appropriate way. I just have to pray, pray, pray, and pray about it.
On a lighter note, all of the kids
are wonderful as usual. They are getting very excited for new siblings to move
in, and ask us every day when they are coming. They are also asking about a
certain couple that is coming in one week. You might all know them as MY
PARENTS!! They are leaving the USA on the 23rd I believe, and will
be in TZ on the 24th. Then on the 25th, bright and early,
they will be leaving DAR for Njombe, where I will be waiting. I’m not excited
at all. ;)
I just want to thank everyone for
their continued prayers, support, encouraging words, and donations for the
kids. It’s really fun to get new things from America, and we always need new
and exciting things.
“Humble yourselves, therefore,
under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your
anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
-1 Peter 5:6-7
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