Life for Kids

Playing under a tree near our guest house

Many have been asking about our children, so here are some thoughts from our children.

Our children have been covered with rashes, not eating well, had doses of diarrhea, been eating less than desireable foods and I have been wondering who in their right mind would do this to their children. Our children still have a very positive attitude most of the time, although A-delight expresses missing her cousins and grandparents. And they have played with Legos constantly for the past 2-3 weeks. It has really been in our face that we are not able to protect our children from everything. We are not in control. I know this is true in all life, but it is completely evident all the time in Niger. There is so much we cannot protect our children from - malaria, heat rash, a pedestrian or car accident, amebas, mosquito bites, and crunchy food that isn't meant to be crunchy :)

I have occationally been catching up on a blog, MomLife Today that I read. And with all the things above on my mind, I was comforted as I read this post. 

Mom and daughter at b-day celebration

….I think, maybe, I need to recognize that there isn’t a perfect place to grow my children. Maybe God is going to grow them wherever they are—whether it’s in the spot I consider “perfect” or a place I consider not the best at all. You know, I know that. I know that God is going to take care of my children and yet I’m stressing over it...

So how am I going to change this operating procedure in my life? Again, God brings me back to prayer. I can pray like the father in Mark 9:24: “Lord I believe, help my unbelief!” And I can pray for wisdom because He says He will give it (James 1:5). And I can rest in the knowledge that He loves me and my children and He will indeed work everything for good (Romans 8:28).

A-delight just turned 5 and it was a wonderful day of celebration! She was sung Happy Birthday to in three different languages! She watched Frozen, which she has only seen a few times. About 12 children ages 3 to 23 came to celebrate cake with us. We had a cake with Nutella icing. We made popciles out of juice. And we had lasagna for lunch! It was a wonderful day and she did feel very special.