This first Saturday in March I was in charge of neighborhood ministry with the FYM team to work with the orphans. We had the kids over and taught them a couple of our skits that we do at open airs. There are no lines so they are all mimed and done to music so it makes it easier for the children who know little English – it also translates well across cultures.
We taught each orphan a part for one skit or the other and broke into two groups. The FYMs did a fantastic job. Many of the orphans are extremely shy so when they had to be up front of a small group and acting for the first time they were extremely shy and hesitant. The FYMs cheered loudly and encouraged for each little bit done well which is so much what these kids need.
Then each group came back to perform for the entire group – it was awesome seeing them look to the FYMs for assurance that they were doing it right and seeing the FYMs just pouring their love onto these precious kids.
While they were practicing I walked back and forth between the two houses they were rehearsing in trying to see how it was going. I walked over to the guys house and checked on that group for the first time and as I stood there in the door watching tears came to my eyes to see the huge smiles on the kids faces and the huge smiles on the faces of the FYMs and to see the kids really getting it.
One of the dramas is particularily hard and complicated so when they were performing for the rest of the group their FYM counterparts were crouched down in front or standing in the back walking them through each piece, it was beautiful. After each drama the applause was huge – many of us (FYMs and leaders) were in tears at one point or another.
We then also introduced the kids to tacos that day. Which was an enormous hit. Each kid went through with their FYM pen-pal (the FYMs write them letters each week) and the FYMs helped them make their first taco. They then came over to me and got sodas and then found a place to sit and eat.
It was so fun to walk through the two houses and see conversations going between the kids and the FYMs and see the huge smiles on all the faces – even the ones who had no idea what the conversations were about as they were in English.
We told the kids they could have a second taco and there was another rush through the line. Several even had 3rds. I then pulled out the cookies I’d made – like 10 dozen and they polished them off.
(the tortillas were fun/amusing as we couldn’t buy them so we decided to make flour tortillas which is hard – they are difficult to make thin. So when we were rolling them out and cooking them the day before a couple of the girls from the orphanage – Janet and Moreen – came over and began showing us the proper way to do it as tortillas are similair to their staple of Chapati. So it was especially fun for them to be surprised to find that it was part of lunch for them the following day.)
