paige in lesotho: dancing.

Good Day Friends. This past week has probably been one of the best weeks ever. There were two volunteers that came early in the week. One just stayed for a week and the other is staying for two years. Amelie was here just for the week and we became fast friends. She volunteered at Beautiful Gate for 8 months a couple years ago. It was so great to share experiences and stories comparing our time at Beautiful Gate. Her love for the Lord was so evident and she really encouraged me to keep growing and seeking Him while I am here. We went on many adventures like taking the taxi into town with the Guerink girls and making dinner for everyone on our side of the house. She was also able to help me work through some of the things that are hard about being here since she has been here and knows exactly what it is like. I was sad to say goodbye to her but it sounds like she might be able to come back in December. Kristin came on Tuesday and she will be staying for 2 years. She will be helping Bryan in the office with fund raising stuff. She is also really cool and I am excited that won't be living by myself anymore.

On Tuesday we had an adoption ceremony for a girl from my house. It was emotional and beautiful and joyful. Before the ceremony the family was running a little late so we were all just waiting in the chapel for them. The bo'me started to sing and dance and before we knew it everyone was laughing. They even taught Anita and Amelie one of the dances. It was too funny to watch! Towards the end of the ceremony they brought some of the older kids into the chapel to watch the ceremony too. It was the first time that they had done that and I thought it was pretty cool that the girl got to see her friends one last time before she left for Sweden.

On Wednesday me and Amelie went on the monthly run to Baylor Clinic. It was another long day with a lot of waiting. After all the kids were done seeing the doctor we were all in the taxi in the parking lot waiting for the nurse to get done refilling the kids' medicines. A certain song plays on the radio and Beautiful Gate's driver turns up the volume way up and the bo'me start to one by one get out of the car and start dancing right there in the parking lot. We were all dying laughter watching them dance! Some of the older boys that were along joined in too and before you know it there was a party going on right outside the Beautiful Gate taxi in the middle of the parking lot. Can you imagine that happening in the states? What if you went to the hospital and in the parking lot you passed a bus with 4 middle aged ladies and 3 little boys all dancing and laughing like no one else is around. That just doesn't happen folks. What is even scarier to think about is...what if that was my mom dancing in the parking lot? Lets just say she should win mom of the year. haha. The joy these people have is contagious and no matter where they are they are always laughing and having a good time. I want to learn to be more like them. So in a few months if you see someone dancing in a random parking lot...its probably just me :)

Another girl from my house met her parents from Canada this week. Which means there is only 2 girls left in my house. CRAZY! But, its okay...I love my boys :) I got to meet the girl's parents and they were just too funny. They were nervous and excited as all new parents are. We were all shocked to hear that the whole adoption process only took a year and a half! That is so rare! After they met their new daughter it was precious to see the mother making comments about how she feels like she knows nothing about kids and the father taking notes on the things the house mother and nurse is telling him. The typical new parents stuff. I loved it. Seeing them with smiles on their faces walking out the door as a family of 3 for the first time is something I loved being able to witness. It just never gets old.

Okay so I am just going to tell a funny story now. Earlier this week I was sitting outside with the Guerinks and the other volunteers. The preschool is very near where our house is and there were kids playing outside that day. One of the Beautiful Gate kids was walking home from preschool when we heard one of his preschool classmates say, "Here is a stick, go beat the Chinese!" Now here is a little background. Young kids who probably don't get into town much call us Chinese when they see us. I am not exactly sure why either. You should also know that the Basotho people generally don't like Chinese people because they are the ones that run the factories and the ones that don't give them fair wages. So many of these kids probably hear their parents come home from working at the factory at night and complain about the Chinese people. Anita tried to go over there and explain to them that we are American and not Chinese, but since their English is limited they all just had a blank stare. Can you imagine your preschooler coming home from school and saying, "beat the Chinese"? We all had a good laugh over that one.