My Africa Night

My recent facebook status said: "There is only one other place I'd rather be ... can you guess?"   Obviously it is Ethiopia! I have been so longing to go to Ethiopia, not only to pick up our one day child but to go and be with the children. I feel that my heart is strangely and somehow connected to a place I have never been to.... but I can't get this longing to go away...

Every Sunday night we open the Mosaic Centre from 4-8pm, because of the amount of children that were coming in while the Winter Warming was running, we started a kid's craft on Sunday night. We had balloons, face painting, and crafts all ready to go...but no children. Arnie and Joe decided they would go to the apartments nearby to find and invite some children. They knew where some of the children lived from the month previous when they would walk them home, so they thought they would try there. I stayed back at the centre while they were gone ( I actually did not even realize they had left to find children). After a while I saw the front door open and a couple Sudanese children stepped in. Then a few more, and a few more and some more after that! They had gathered about 15 Sudanese children to come for the craft. Some we had met before, but this time they brought all their siblings and cousins.

We had a riot! An evening in Africa with balloons, face paint, ice cream and crafts. The children were very hyper, but I didn't mind, I could tell they were having the time of their lives! I designated myself as the face painter, hands down best job of the night. I painted some of the most sweet faces I have ever seen. All the little girls wanted to be princesses and angels and the boys batmans and spidermans. 

One sassy little 6 year old started to put on a little sass act with me. I listened to her for a while, then instead of responding in a way she was probably used to, I  gently touched her chin, smiled right at her and said, "You have got to be the cutest little girl I have seen!" She smiled and ran away, the rest of the night her sass became a sweet sass not a mean sass. 

What a fun night. I am so grateful for tonight, I felt my heart got to fully come alive.

There was one little boy who had been climbing on Arnie all night. He had gone with Arnie to get ice cream for all the children. While they were out he tugged on Arnie's sleeve as if to ask him a question. When Arnie looked down at him he smiled back and said, "Can I go home with you?" Arnie gently told him that he couldn't and that he would need to go back to his home, but seriously could you break our hearts a little more??

We are hoping they all return next sunday for another fun Africa night!

This was my night in Africa, a small piece of hopefully is what to come. I feel blessed because God allowed me to live out my dreams for a night... I am full of anticipation for the future!