This week they have made me so proud. They have selflessly given so much, and at
age 3 and 5 (almost 6, he’d want me to tell you), they are wise beyond their
little years.
Let me explain:
As I’ve mentioned (quite a few times), we came with just
suitcases. No moving package as so many of my expat friends with fancy jobs get
when they come to Cambodia. That means we leave with just our luggage, too.
Since we’ve picked up a few things along the way, we naturally can’t take back
to America everything we brought from America. We had to start sorting a couple weeks ago.
The boys decided they wanted to give some clothes away a few
weeks ago so we donated some of our not so awesome shirts and pants to the boys
center we visit each week. We gave some
that were too small and some that were dirty or worn out, knowing that these
kids who live on the street would appreciate them.
And they did.
But that was just the beginning.
That was a few weeks ago. In the weeks since we have filled
up bags and bags of new shirts and pants and shoes and... get ready for
this.... really awesome, super cool, totally amazing TOYS. Some of them were even from Santa this past
Christmas.
You know, the Santa who has never visited those boys at the
center in their whole lives. Not that
they need him. Look what I caught them
doing this week with Lincoln Logs. It’s
worth watching*!
*I am unable to show you their faces for security reasons, but I promise you they are smiling so big!
Anyway, my kids realized their needs. This week I heard my own precious little boys say things like:
“They have a pirate ship in the playroom at the center but
no pirates so let’s give them all our pirates”
(ALL our pirates?)
“I have 5 superhero shirts and I don’t need that many, so
let’s give 3 to the kids. I hope my
friend ___* gets one of them!”
*left out name for security, but seriously how proud was I
from that?
“They like Ben 10 because sometimes they wear Ben 10 shirts
so we can give our Ben 10 toys to them.
There aren’t Ben 10 toys in the playroom.”
And lots of “Sure, donate those” and “Yeah, definitely give that
to them” when my husband and I asked about certain toys and clothes.
Yep, definitely some proud momma moments.
It probably wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t invested our
time into these boys at Hard Places. For me it confirmed that when you
volunteer your time serving the poor, it is not just the poor who are
rewarded. We have learned and received
much as well. Maybe that is why Jesus commands it?
I know for me, it certainly gives me a glimpse of His love
for us. It gives me a hint of how faith is made complete by our works. It makes
me wonder if the Lord looks down on His people and has some proud moments when
we serve others in the way I felt proud when my babies served those boys.
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