Day 8 The wrong child in the right place at the right time

Today we are going to  Bono which is a small town about half an hour away from St. Louis du Nord. A beautiful playground was donated in Bono for the town kids and we are bringing the special needs children from the Miriam Center to play there today.

The plan at the Miriam center for outings is you go down to the center and wait for the children to pick YOU. You dont' pick your child. The kids will walk or crawl or wheel towards those they feel attracted to. I heard many people share how anxious this process made them feel. What if you DON'T get picked? WHO is going to pick you? will you be comfortable with the child who picks you? All valid points. My plan was if I didn't get picked I have been with 3 different children this week and would take them. I didn't have to worry about a back up plan. As soon as I entered the Miriam center Natalie came running up to me and grabbed my hand and brought be to the basket of shoes. I WAS PICKED. I was on the team LOL! As we were putting on her shoes the director came up to me and said "Are you planning on taking Natalie? We weren't planning on letting her go. She is a runner, but if you are willing to watch her we will let her go"

As i was getting ready to go i saw my MOISE and he was reaching out for me. I asked if I could bring him and I would give Natalie to Shyla or Christine. Sadly Moise could not come with us. So its Natalie and I.

We all boarded the bus and made our way to Bono. It was a long BUMPY ride. There is no way to describe these roads. They really aren't roads. trails with cement and rocks is the closest description. they really have to be experienced.

We arrive in Bono half an hour later and true to what Heather said about Natalie being a runner happened. Natalie was not interested in playing on the playground equipment. She wanted to walk, so we did. All of a sudden Natalie lets go of my hand and she is running through an open field. I am running after her and yelling to Brian to help head her off at the path. Thankfully Natalie stopped so she could pick up mangos to throw them and i was able to get her under control.

Shyla brought Minuche who is in a wheelchair and was having a hard time pushing the chair or giving her water etc and was just uncomfortable with the care it took for her so asked if we could trade children. I had my run for the day so was all up for having a child in a wheelchair that i knew wouldnt' run in a large rocky field .

Minuche and I painted our nails. I carried her to the slide and took her down the slide. We played and watched Cayden  play soccer  with kids from Bono , and played games with some of the town kids. It was a great day. The best feeling of all was having Natalie fall asleep beside me and Minuche sleeping on me. I was so hot with both of them on me but loved the feeling.

the selecting process. She was picked. the rest are waiting

Minoche |(sp) 

Shyla doing Natalie's nails

Maggie doing Rosalies nails

Cayden playing soccer

When we got back to the Mission we had a late lunch. there was a little girl sitting at our table. She had come in from an orphanage near by. They brought her to the Mission because apparently someone on the mission trip  had been sponsoring her and wanted to meet her in person.

She would be sponsored in the same way as you would sponsor a child through  WORLD VISION or COMPASSION. So the family on the Mission trip made arrangements for their sponsor child to come and spend the day with them.

When this little girl arrived the family reported that this was NOT the little girl they were sponsoring. A disappointment to the family and probably the little girl who was left behind, but for this girl it was her lucky day.
As we were sitting with her Christine said "mom look at her ears. They are filled with pus." This poor little girl had clearly had a bad ear infection and her ears perforated. I went and spoke with the nurse who told me to speak to one of the doctors that were on the medical mission team. I got him brought him over. He went and got some meds and told me how to clean her ears and administer the drops etc. I love medical stuff. Love pus and blood and gore. So I was in my element getting her all cleaned  up.

After Christine and I were talking and she said how this was a GOD MOMENT! There are no accidents. There are things that appear to be accidents and mistakes. If one were to look we would say "the wrong child was brought to the mission." But was the wrong child brought?? Maybe for that family, but not for this little girls. She was able to have a great lunch. She had lots of attention from all the people there. She had a nap in the cool shade of the Mission. She had her ears cleaned and had medicine to take back with her to the orphanage. She was the wrong girl but in the right place at the right time. How amazing for her!

I ended the day feeling so good. I was in heaven with sleeping children on me. I was used by God to bring Aid to a child and once again I went to sleep utterly exhausted but filled with JOY!

If you are interested in sponsoring a child through this mission go to .www.nwhcm.org you can sponsor a child or donate a one time gift to the Mission. there is a suggested monthly amount but that can be less if you can't afford what is suggested.