Timothy

Timothy is a shy, soft-spoken little boy who is in my small group on Friday afternoons. He's usually pretty quiet, but he always gives me a hug when he sees me and flashes me a smile that just melts my heart.

About a month ago, Timothy was a participant in the Bible Contest (you can read more about the contest here). When I asked him to recite the books of the Bible, I noticed that he seemed to be having some difficulty saying certain words. Curious, I asked the director's wife if she had noticed Timothy having any problems with his speech. She told me that he'd always struggled with it and, though the other kids at the home could usually understand him, he did get picked on and made fun of at times. Hearing that, my heart just broke. I hate knowing that any child is being teased -- especially sweet Timothy, and especially for something that isn't his fault.

I made up my mind that day that I was determined to help Timothy any way I could. Now, in America, if I noticed one of my students having problems with speech, I would arrange for him/her to go to speech therapy; in Liberia, however, kids don't have that option. There is no speech therapist at Timothy's school and, as hard as I tried, I was unable to find a contact in the area who could give me advice. Disappointed, I started praying for God to send someone to help Timothy.
I had no idea that the someone would end up being me.

As I was laying in bed one night, thinking and praying about the situation, the figurative light-bulb finally went off. I remembered that I had brought a whole bunch of phonics materials with me when I came to Liberia, as I had planned on using them to assess reading levels in the kids. But then I realized that I had seen the same phonics materials used for speech lessons, since they help children practice letter and special sounds! It appeared I had found the answer. Quickly, though, my excitement faded as my fear and insecurity started to set in: There's no way I can do this. I'm not qualified. I've never done this kind of thing before. It's not going to work.
But then I heard Him -- clearly. Distinctly. "I've never given you a task that I haven't equipped you for." And then I saw Timothy's precious little face and that sweet smile of his, and it was such a gentle, beautiful reminder that the whole thing wasn't about me at all. It's about the God who loves Timothy so deeply and so fiercely, the Father who desires for His child Timothy to have every opportunity and chance to succeed in life, just like any other parent would.

So, for the past two weeks, on Wednesday afternoons, Timothy and I have been having "our special time." (It's very important to me that he doesn't think I'm meeting with him because he's in trouble, or because he's different or has a problem, or because I've singled him out. I want him to know I love him, and I like spending time with him -- and that's why we meet.) We practice his speech with flashcards, by reading together, doing alphabet puzzles, or just telling stories and talking with one another. Timothy seems to be excited about our time, and he's eager to "study" his sounds throughout the week (I've left some flashcards that I made with him, and he practices saying the letters, sounds, and words.)

Please remember Timothy in your prayers in the coming weeks. Pray that he and I will continue to bond with one another and build our relationship, and that he will continue looking forward to and being excited about our times together. Pray that, with practice and over time, he will be able to clearly communicate with his friends, his peers, his family -- everyone he comes into contact with. Pray that his self-confidence will increase, and that he will come to believe that he truly can "do all things through Christ" who strengthens him. And pray that, above all, he will know that he is a dear, special child of God, uniquely created, "fearfully and wonderfully made."

Everything In Its Place

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm all about order and organization. While it's true that I have gotten much better about keeping my cool in the midst of a mess, I still have a hard time leaving anything laying around; it's like I feel compelled to pick it up and put it back where it belongs!
So, something I'd been wanting to do for a while was to create a "supply area" here at the team house for the Child Development Program. All of the crayons, pencils, construction paper, scissors, etc. were scattered throughout the office in various bins, boxes, and suitcases, and that made it difficult to keep an inventory of our supplies. (Plus, they were just taking up too much space!) So, we decided we would take some measurements and find someone to make us a shelf for CDP materials.

This weekend, though, Ashley and I decided to go check out a local garage sale -- and we found a shelf that was just like the one we had in mind! We got a great deal on it and happily took it back to the house.

The next task, then, was to dig through all the program's supplies and organize them accordingly on the shelf: one bin for markers, one bin for glue sticks, etc. -- and labeling everything, of course!
We had some time this morning, so we eagerly got to work. A few hours later, we flopped down on the couch (drenched in sweat, might I add!) to admire the finished product. Ain't it pretty?!

New Creations!

As a follow-up to our Easter lesson, the kids in the Child Development Program are making butterfly crafts this week. We're relating the metamorphosis that the caterpillar goes through to the change that occurs when we have Christ in us. We're also reading the story of Saul and what happened to him on the road to Damascus; he's a great example of a life completely changed by Jesus!
The kids had a blast decorating their butterflies with crayons, paper and glitter-glue, and they loved showing off their creations. Please pray that the message will sink in and stay with them for years to come: that they, too, are just like butterflies -- new creations in and because of Jesus!"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5.17, NIV

Guess My Skin Disease!

If you guessed miliaria rubra (also known as "prickly heat", "heat rash" or "sweat rash"), you're correct.

About a week ago, I started noticing some red bumps on my shoulders that were extremely irritating in a sting-y, burn-y kind of way. Not thinking too much of it, I lathered up with some antibacterial soap in the shower and went to bed. I woke up in the morning to find the bumps had spread from my shoulders almost down to my elbows. As time went on, it appeared on my chest, back, neck and jawline. And I won't lie to you -- it's making me pretty miserable.

Apparently, treatment options include moving to an air-conditioned environment and avoiding sweat-provoking activities. Umm...yeah right. Not gonna happen. (It's also recommended that I take frequent cool showers, which I plan to start doing. I have this pretty awesome antibacterial soap that turns your skin blackish-blue when you lather up. And it also smells a little bit like Lysol, so that's pretty interesting, too.)

Please note that this rash is completely separate from the one that I have on my left forearm, which I suspect is also heat/sweat-related. That one consists of about a dozen red bumps (some raised) that are more spread out across my skin. And that one doesn't sting; it only slightly itches every once in a while.

Fun, fun, fun. : /