just another great day.

(my new friend is not so sure about me.)

Katinka and I woke up this morning and cleaned out a storage area that is behind our guesthouse. There were bins and bins of things and we took them all out, sorted through all of the content and organized what needed to go back in the shed. It was, of course, ridiculously hot and as we were both pouring sweat, Katinka looked up and said in her cute German accent, “I am certain I have never sweated this much in my entire life!” After a few hours out there, a cold shower never felt so great! 

The kids were home for their lunch break when we arrived at the orphanage and we spent time with them before they went back to school for the afternoon. The high school kids are in the middle of big exams this week. They take 2 exams each day and cover all their subjects in a week’s time. They have been working and studying so hard! They are all the best students. Jon was bragging today on 2 of his boys, Augustin and David. They are both the top students in their class. Which is amazing! Augustin is in high school and David is in what is considered middle school in America. They are so bright!

(sweet Damien.)

This afternoon it was quiet around the centre while the kids were at school so I decided to call Kelli and leave her a voicemail. Let her know I was thinking about her and to wish her a happy day. I dialed her number and as I was waiting for the voicemail to pick up, she answered the phone! It just so happened she was on her planning period at school and had her phone beside her. I am certain that this is the longest we have ever gone without talking to each other in the history of our friendship. She knows me better than anyone else and has been one of my biggest supporters throughout this entire process. A quick 8-minute conversation with my best friend who is thousands of miles away just made me smile! Glad you answered the phone Odom! 

Nights are busy, busy around the centre. The children start arriving home from school sometime around 5 and they are usually all home by 6. They then must take showers and the kitchen crew for the week starts helping the cooks with the final preparations for dinner. Different chores must be accomplished and all the children (usually) take care of their given tasks so well. It is amazing to sit back and watch! I think about children and families I have been around in the States and it is brutal to get them off the couch or computer to start their homework. These kids walk home to the orphanage from school, shower, do their chores, and start their studying without any prompting. Well, most of the time…sometime there is a little prompting! But hey, kids are kids, right?

Today was Mathias’ birthday. He turned 25! He works for the organization and does so much! His office is at our guesthouse and he is here early in the mornings and always stops by the orphanage to see the kids at least once a day. He is a great big brother to them! It is obvious they all love and respect him so much. For his birthday we had pop after dinner. Bottled pop. It’s quite the treat, as you can imagine. The kids only drink water except for special occasions. And Mathias’ birthday is definitely a special occasion!

(the birthday boy with the special plate!)

It kills me to see the kids open the glass bottles though. THEY DO IT WITH THEIR TEETH!!! Here is Augustin demonstrating how it’s done…he makes it look so simple. He almost had me talked into trying it out, but then Bernard convinced me that it was a terrible idea and my teeth would break. So I just went ahead and let Augustin do all the bottle opening. His reward for opening everyone’s bottles is that he gets a drink of everyone’s pop…perfect.

After the celebration with pop, it was time to finish up schoolwork, brush teeth and head to bed. My French is pretty much non-existent, but I am a professional at yelling “BRUSH YOUR TEETH!” every night. And tonight they taught me how to say, “Go to bed!” in French. Watch out, tomorrow night it’s going to be nothing but “Brosser les dents!! D’aller au lit!” I know the kids will be pumped.

There is a storm blowing in right now. It has cooled down significantly in the past hour and the thunder is rolling. My fan is off for the first time since I’ve been here I think and the music from my laptop is filling my room. As I was waiting for the pictures for this post to load this song came on my iTunes shuffle. The words to this song are the cry of my heart right now. 

Oh Lord, Your love is overwhelming me.

The More I Seek You

by: Gateway Worship

The more I seek You

The more I find You

The more I find You

The more I love You

I want to sit at Your feet

Drink from the cup in Your hand

Lay back against You and breathe

Feel Your heart beat

This love is so deep

It's more than I can stand

I melt in Your peace

It's overwhelming

Praying you feel this same overwhelming Love where you are today. 
The more you seek Him, the more you find Him friends.