Naomi has found fast friends in two sisters, the daughters of one of our teachers. Though they only met for the first time this past week, they have found common joys of pretending and imagining. And my heart has delighted to see my prayers for Naomi finally answered - she has made African friends!
Our normally social Quinn, at our last house, could often be found playing football, participating in stick-gun wars or tree climbing with many African friends. But here he seems to be having a difficult time. Perhaps because Quinn is having a hard time with life in general right now. He seems stuck somewhere not quite boy and not quite young man and is frustrated by much of his days. The best times for him are when Dad is free to work on projects with him - today they are putting new brakes on David’s bike and putting up curtain rods for me, and Quinn is content.
Quinn has made one friend here - a boy I’ll nickname AJ. Sadly, he is one of only two kids on-campus that I don’t quite trust. It’s a hard thing for any local kid to enter our lives, to get their minds around our foods and drinks, our filtered waters and flush toilet, our endless toys and books. For a child who is not well supervised, not well loved at home or otherwise not quite ready for the challenge of living in two worlds, it is irresistable temptation.
I want to close the door on AJ - I don’t want more stealing, or more disappointments or walls in my children’s hearts. It’s the hardest thing to warn your child about their friends, isn’t it? I want my kids to have open, trusting hearts but the world isn’t always trustworthy. Quinn’s response to my concerns is to say ” Mom, he’s my friend.”

And so, AJ is in and out of our house. I am teaching him that a used cup must be washed, not merely returned to its’ place in the cupboard. I watch the way he speaks and the way he laughs at others and Quinn and I talk about it later. I find that my heart already has walls and hardness and I have rejected AJ without getting to know him. I am already ready to say goodbye but my child’s desires soften my heart. So, now I am realizing that I need to pray for AJ’s heart not just his presence in our lives. Pray that he will see and respond to the love of Jesus. That Jesus love will overflow from our lives into his. And pray that as we seek to give abundantly of our lives, hearts, things and safety that Jesus will be abundantly known.