Sunday Smiles

Smiles from early in the morning to late in the evening can indicate great joy, total confusion or just being happy in the moment. Sunday is a time of great joy! The children come an hour early to everything around here! So it is no surprise to find them standing behind me at the table before I can even finish my breakfast. Their enthusiasm is hard to ignore. We enjoy singing, and can go through ou entire inventory of songs pretty quickly now. On Sunday I enjoy delving into the scriptures with them, because they have no background in the Word and find the stories fascinating. They sit listening as I explain the divisions of the Bible and the significance of God's plan for His people throughout the Old and New Testaments. Then I explained that the main idea of the Bible is God's personal interest in each person and His control over the things around us as He orchestrates His will in the world. We added two verses to "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands"--one for Jonah and one for baby Moses. They enjoyed creating the scene in their composition books and writing a summary under each depiction.****Joe's sermon on God's calling in Gideon's life kept his audience spellbound as well. Worship is such a sweet time with the students leading throughout. Communion bread, like all our meals, is made fresh on Sunday morning. It is a form of fry bread in small squares since there is no oven nor microwave.****After a time of rest, Sokhom and Serai took us southeast of town to visit an orphanage for children whose parents have died of AIDS. it is a large complex divided now into two sections--one for teens and the other for younger children. The younger children were engrossed in a television program. There was a shelf lined with children's books in English, but none of the children could read English! We toured the grounds and visited with the manager before we headed out to see the chicken farm where his hatchlings are sold.****We decided to try the local pizza parlor for dinner tonight. The drive through town brought smiles as a toddler on the motor next to us began flirting with me. I couldn't resist his kisses blown over my way!****On the drive home, I commented to Sokhom about how amazing it was to live in a household of eighteen young men from so many backgrounds and different villages. Every young man, aged 16-33, takes part in every aspect of the family life. They treat each other, the staff and the neighborhood children with respect and love. He told us of three of the students who were originally taken into his care at the reqest of their parents to reform them. They were three of the most recent additions who would have wound up in the wrong crowds on the street as runaways. They are adorable, kind Christian leaders now. Their parents were amazed at the changes when they returned home on vacation recently. Your mission contributions-both financially and through prayer--are making a difference in the Kingdom!