We had a unique opportunity today and ended up feeling so blessed by the experience of making new friends! Through Quinn and Clara, I have become acquainted with a wonderful family from Hoosier Academy, the Bennetts. On Labor Day weekend, the Bennetts traveled to the Indianapolis airport to pick up five guests who have become part of their family for the last month.
Amelia and Sarah are two little girls (ages 2 and 5) who live in Uganda. Both of them were in need of heart surgery and traveled here to America, each with their mothers and with a translator, through Samaritan's Purse Children's Heart Project. We have been praying for these girls since they arrived, and both of them came through their surgeries beautifully (one with a much shorter surgery time and hospital stay than originally estimated) and they are now in their in-between recovery period before heading home.
I was in a meeting with my friend Cindy a couple of months ago when she shared that these ladies and their daughters would be coming here to the United States, and she asked for anyone who was willing to volunteer to take the group out (post-surgeries) to do something fun. I immediately knew that I wanted our family to take part, and that this was something Matt would want to do. His trip to Tanzania in 2004 made such an impression on him, and I knew that he would be in full support of getting our kids involved in meeting these girls from the other side of the globe.
The whole thing was a little bit outside of my comfort zone--I'm not the most outgoing person in the world, and I was a little bit nervous about what to say and how we would communicate. But the afternoon ended up being such a blessing to us as a family. It was wonderful to listen to Doreka (the translator) and the mothers share different things about their country. And we shared things about ours, too. We picked apples, played in the children's play area (complete with a straw bale maze that Sarah figured out in no time), had a picnic lunch, talked about pumpkins and honey bees and learned about making apple cider. It was a great afternoon to put life on "PAUSE," forget about all the things that needed done at home, and enjoy these new friends. As a mother I'm often surprised by the way my children see the world around them. I have become immune to so many things, and my kids often help me see things through fresh eyes, to understand things in a new way. Today was a little bit like that for me, but on a whole different level. I was able to learn a little bit about another part of the world, and I was also given the chance to look at MY world from a completely different perspective. It has forced me to think about some things in a totally new way.
My very favorite part of our afternoon was our ride back to the Bennett's house from the orchard. Millie rode in the van with me and our guests, and she and the girls spent the whole ride back giggling and singing (in English, Luganda, and Spanish--Millie has been learning quite a few Spanish songs in school this year). There was no barrier of language or race for those little girls in the back...they weren't worried about what to say or do...they were just having fun together and giggling the whole time! I hope we were as much of a blessing to our new friends as they were to us. It was an afternoon that we won't forget!
Amelia and Sarah are two little girls (ages 2 and 5) who live in Uganda. Both of them were in need of heart surgery and traveled here to America, each with their mothers and with a translator, through Samaritan's Purse Children's Heart Project. We have been praying for these girls since they arrived, and both of them came through their surgeries beautifully (one with a much shorter surgery time and hospital stay than originally estimated) and they are now in their in-between recovery period before heading home.
I was in a meeting with my friend Cindy a couple of months ago when she shared that these ladies and their daughters would be coming here to the United States, and she asked for anyone who was willing to volunteer to take the group out (post-surgeries) to do something fun. I immediately knew that I wanted our family to take part, and that this was something Matt would want to do. His trip to Tanzania in 2004 made such an impression on him, and I knew that he would be in full support of getting our kids involved in meeting these girls from the other side of the globe.
The whole thing was a little bit outside of my comfort zone--I'm not the most outgoing person in the world, and I was a little bit nervous about what to say and how we would communicate. But the afternoon ended up being such a blessing to us as a family. It was wonderful to listen to Doreka (the translator) and the mothers share different things about their country. And we shared things about ours, too. We picked apples, played in the children's play area (complete with a straw bale maze that Sarah figured out in no time), had a picnic lunch, talked about pumpkins and honey bees and learned about making apple cider. It was a great afternoon to put life on "PAUSE," forget about all the things that needed done at home, and enjoy these new friends. As a mother I'm often surprised by the way my children see the world around them. I have become immune to so many things, and my kids often help me see things through fresh eyes, to understand things in a new way. Today was a little bit like that for me, but on a whole different level. I was able to learn a little bit about another part of the world, and I was also given the chance to look at MY world from a completely different perspective. It has forced me to think about some things in a totally new way.
My very favorite part of our afternoon was our ride back to the Bennett's house from the orchard. Millie rode in the van with me and our guests, and she and the girls spent the whole ride back giggling and singing (in English, Luganda, and Spanish--Millie has been learning quite a few Spanish songs in school this year). There was no barrier of language or race for those little girls in the back...they weren't worried about what to say or do...they were just having fun together and giggling the whole time! I hope we were as much of a blessing to our new friends as they were to us. It was an afternoon that we won't forget!
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