Adventures With Sarah

I can’t believe it’s been a month since we last wrote! Yikes, it went fast! As I try to remember what has actually been happening I wonder if I missed it! What did happen? As I collect my wits you can imagine my little boy ‘helping’ me as I write…given a tin of dominoes to conquer, he has begun taking them out one by one and flinging them on the tile floor because the noise is so great! Not only is the noise fun but watching them scuttle under the furniture and to every corner of the room is part of the delight, so there is a good pause between each onslaught as he waits for the last one to come to a complete stop. Oh yes, now I remember…. It has been a very busy month!
The beginning of every school term is busy for me as I help the kids write letters to their sponsors and this month was especially busy because I also had to take 3 photos of each kid and fill out update forms to keep their sponsors informed of any changes for them this year and add career goals and fun ‘favorites’ or likes that the sponsors might not know about. It’s a great way to get to know the kids better. I have an advantage over Mark in that way… he only gets to know the ‘bad’ ones well….The ones who sit on the other side of his desk in their ‘not so greatest of moments’. (Just yesterday he asked what I thought he should to two older boys who got in a fist fight…. I suggested window washing and scrubbing the stairwells with a small brush… I haven’t heard what happened but picturing either of those macho boys doing those menial tasks makes me smile…. I imagine feeling like ‘Little Orphan Annie’ {without the cool dog to keep them company}is not their idea of a good Friday afternoon.) Anyway, besides the sponsorship I am also writing reports for the organization; interviewing staff who traveled somewhere or were involved in an event that needs to be recorded and written in a way that could be used in their magazine if necessary. Many of you know that is right up my alley so I have been enjoying that.
Otherwise child maintenance has been my main occupation…. The child who, by the way, is now in the high chair next to me, mutilating little pieces of bread into littler pieces of bread and practicing his new trick which I am trying to ignore (sticking his fingers in his nose up to the knuckle… this a very new trick and I’m hoping that no reaction keeps the intriguing discovery of the cool holes to a minimum).
I’m not sure what Mark is going to write, but from my perspective, this month has been one of the toughest for him at the school since we’ve come. He has been utterly exhausted and it has been hard to know how to help. Please pray for strength, good health, and wisdom for him. Please pray that I am able to help in ways I can which includes not getting irritated when the work seems to consume him completely and is never ending. I will add, though, it seems Seth is Mark’s little battery re-charger. It is so cool to see Seth’s face light up when he hears daddy honk the horn at the gate in the evening. We always run out on the porch and his arms and legs are pumping as he watches daddy pull in. For the next 10 or 15 minutes Seth has to be with daddy otherwise he starts fussing. And Mark has a blast playing and laughing with him. Praise God for little ones! My most appreciated contribution to the ‘family time’ is quite definitely a nice meal for everybody! In summary, God is good and brings joy in the little things even though there seems to be many challenges right now. Thank for all your love and support! Till next month, Sarah