Our Boys

Let me introduce 2 of our boys to you today.

I have just been realizing that I have written a lot about the land and the climate and such things, and have told you all very little about our boys here. We have been here at H2tNI just a month now, and already we are discovering unique and particular strengths in each boy- some on the verge of young manhood.
There is Bakary, the sweet, helpful, servant hearted one.  Just 7 years old, and on the street from a very young age, he yet has a sweetness that is winsome.  Two weeks ago his daily job was to clean the tables after each meal.  One particular day we had a fish sauce with rather bony pieces of fish, and many bones and smelly scraps were left on the table when we were finished. Having lived more than a year or two in fly territory, I saw that the tables really needed to have a good scubbing if we were to avoid being entirely overrun with those nasty, pesky insects.  The floor wanted a washing too, with all the sticky rice and scraps that had gotten spilled there, so I thought that I would help him do that. We took the tables outside and I showed him how to make a paper "dustpan" to take the spilled rice and crumbs to the trash cans out and away from the buildings, rather than just to sweep them on the ground right outside the doors. Then we washed the tables, rather than just brushing them off.   He took the little broom from me and vigorously completed the job.  Not only that, the next 2 days, when I was not there to help, he washed the floor again- an extra job, above and beyond his required duty. It was a delight to see.
I have several times observed his quick attention to see a job that needs done and just go ahead and do it. He has helped our little 2 year old Jonathan, come and offered to help me carry something that I was carrying, offered to work with Ray at a task.  It is a trait that I so admire in my husband, and have benefitted from many times. :)) Pray that others will recognize that gifting and honor it in Bakary.

Then there is Karim, one of the quieter ones.  He, too, is observant, and has a real gentlemanliness about him that is special. When we have travelled in the truck (a real experience on these rough and dusty roads, I can tell you), he has noticed when a large truck was coming to pass us, and reached across to shut my window to save me from the worst of the dust and dirt that rolls in the open windows. He also would reach out to steady my shoulders when I was trying to get a picture while we were driving on a particularly rough stretch of that same rugged and rutted dirt road. 

It seems to me that this intense 14 year old is designed to be an accountant or have a detail conscious job.  He is extrememly neat and precise with his writing skills, and accurate with his math.  He does not answer as quickly as some of the other boys, but I wonder if that is more because he is being careful to have a right answer, well thought thru and sure, than from any lack of understanding. Pray with me that his skills will be appreciated, and that he will come to realize his worth for who God has made him, valuing his carefulness as a treasure.