Bev and I went again today to the orphanage in the afternoon. We always have so much fun there. Today we split the group in two and played games with them and then read them books. I hadn't played Duck-duck-goose in such a long time or Ring around the rosies. I found myself searching through my mind trying to think of games that I played years ago so that I could somehow entertain them. I think that it is good for the heart to play with little children. They are so easily satisfied and entertained. They don't have a tv or even lots of toys laying around, so they always play games with each other. One child today asked Beverley how many brothers and sisters she had. After she answered, the child was suprised and with pride said I have 83. It really seems as if they see each other as brothers and sisters, they are so precious.
The other thing that surprised me is that they all share everything. Even their shoes are community property. While we were playing games a bunch of them took off their flip flops and then when we were finished, they all put on different shoes. It's impossible to tell them apart because they are all simple white and blue flip flops, just different sizes. So sometimes the last one to get to the pile of shoes doesn't get any.
It really must be rat season because in this last week we've caught 6. It's ridiculous. It's true that they really like cheese, all over the world. One day we ran out of cheese and used butter, and that night we didn't catch any. They're becoming very bold these days and just run into our house as if they are a welcome guest. Somehow I feel a little guilty killing all of them. I remember growing up, my sister had a hamster and we paid $80 dollars for a vet to put an IV in him when he became dehydrated because of wet tail. That seems like so long ago and worlds away from here. Now Houser and I run excitedly to the kitchen in the morning to see if we caught anything in the night.
We have 12 people here right now doing Mission Adventures and so Houser has been really busy teaching. They'll leave here on Friday to go on outreach. Both Houser and I have been asked to share at a Youth Conference tomorrow and so we'll be waking up pretty early as it's over an hour away. I'm supposed to share about prayer and he's supposed to share about missions. It's a neat opportunity because usually we're asked to share separately at different events and so it will be good to finally share together.
