November 27, 2009
When I pray for patience in the mornings, I always know my first test will come from Anand. Don’t get me wrong, I love him and so enjoy hanging out with him, but he knows how to test me! Anand’s favorite game is to mock everything I say. And I’m not exaggerating when I say everything- every word that comes out of my mouth within earshot of him is quickly retorted in a high pitched imitation of me. Most days I can take it and dish some back. Then there’s the occasional day when God’s taught me that it’s ok to look at him and say, “Enough. It’s not funny anymore” in order to maintain my own patience and peace of mind! He’s great at reading my facial expressions, so he usually knows when he’s crossed the line!
Through all the mimicking, though, Anand does a fair share of questioning. He sometimes reminds me of a toddler, asking “why?!” to everything he can think of and then some. He’s not a great student, but he works incredibly hard (he might have one of the best work ethics of all the kids!), and I imagine one day that questioning will lead him to some neat discovery in science or something. He LOVES to learn about America and will spend hours talking with me about anything and everything, from Air Force One to my home in the US.
He’s got a mind that I often wish I had- one that seeks to know the answers for everything and yet will still question the most trivial things! Of all the kids I’ve helped with math, I’m the most proud of him, because while he’s weak in math, he’s willing to sit there and work and work until he understands! And when I give him a formula or theorem, his response is “Why?!” so then we go on to prove it (it’s great practice for me!). He tests what he hears with all that he has to see whether or not he should take it as truth. His faith is not a faith that simply hears and believes, but is one that seeks the hard answers and is not afraid to ask God the hard questions! He’s constantly writing notes in his Bible or flipping through the pages looking for some verse that relates to whatever question is presently at hand!
Through all his questioning, there are still some questions which I don’t have answers to for Anand. The biggest one is the absence of a father. His mother and one of his sisters live nearby (about a 30 minute walk from here), and his mother sells things on the side of the street for a living. Sometimes when we walk to the market, he’ll see her and run up to her and give her a hug and talk with her for awhile. His sisters are older and one is married and he also has an older brother. While I’ve never met someone as inquisitive as Anand, I’ve also probably never met someone so intent on learning! One day, I know he’s going to use that knowledge and understanding to further the Kingdom in unfathomable ways!
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