(photo: Kathryn, Megan, Peter, Grace and a bunch of kids at a picnic)There are lots of kids on our street with little supervision. Sometimes they move in large packs, but other times stray individuals wander the street. As a rule they aren’t terribly well behaved and not terribly trustworthy. They break things. Many don’t listen to adults and some steal.
Now it is island custom to keep your front door open. It lets people know that you are at home and available. If our neighbors see a closed door they often think we’re not home or that perhaps we don’t want to be disturbed.
So with an open door and lots of kids around- inevitably kids stop at our door. Some stand on the street and stare in. Others come on the porch and stick their heads in our house. Others lie on their stomachs and watch us.
Still others just come straight into the house. This isn’t polite by island standards, they are supposed to make their presence known and ask permission before entering a house. Sometimes they’re young and toddle in unaware of such customs. Some are drawn in by the sight of Grace playing with toys. Some are older, know better and sneak in quietly when we’re not looking and run away at the first sight of us. I’ve come out of the kitchen (the backmost room) and been startled to see a group of seven kids in our house.
This pattern means that many times we are shooing kids out of our house- reprimanding them and reminding them of social customs. Sometimes we are taking toys away from them that they are breaking or pocketing. We don’t want to always be yelling at them. How do we show love to these kids?
We had an idea---lots of these kids don’t have many toys, so for the past several weeks we’ve had a box of porch toys. They’re toys that can handle a beating or don’t have sentimental value—toys of which we were giving up ownership, they now belong to the kids of the street. So if they get broken or disappear it’s okay.
Now we don’t want to tempt kids to steal so it is understood that the toys are supposed to stay on our porch. When kids show up at our door, we bring out the box and a small crowd often appears on our small porch to play.
It’s been great. The kids have surprised us. There are some very sweet kids on our street. Some will put all the toys away and push the box neatly in the door when they are done playing. One kid brought a battery from home to put in a toy that needed it. It has led to more positive interactions. We get to share and the kids have a place to play.
I didn’t know what a draw these toys were until there was a downpour. Playing in the rain is a favorite past time of little boys here. They strip down and splash in the torrent. I stepped outside to check on the falling shower outside and almost tripped over two naked little boys on our stoop. They were dripping wet and one was shivering, but instead of playing in the rain, they were eagerly playing with our porch toys.
PRAYERS ANSWERED
Our team (especially Kathryn) has been trying to help a poor paralyzed girl travel for medical treatment (she has been abandoned to a hospital room for the past year). After lots of difficulties, plane tickets have been bought. She travels with her mother on Saturday! The audio project continues to go well so far!
PRAYERS REQUESTED
As a whole team, we are traveling to Kenya this coming week for a bi-annual conference. Pray for safe travel and that we would learn a lot at the conference. Kathryn is packing up her house and saying goodbye to neighbors today. Pray for her transition and final interactions. One of the sisters here has been plagued by strange illnesses, (possibly of a spiritual nature) pray for her full healing.
