Raju; take 2!

February 18, 2010
Remember Raju? I’ve told you about him before. He’s the cutest little 7 year old ever, with big eyes that betray every emotion that crosses his mind. Well, his English has improved exponentially, and we can now carry on a decent conversation (of course, it’s still at the level of a 7 year old, but, comprehendible for both parties!). He’ll run up to me and say, “Sister, Skip-Bo? Uno?!” And I just can’t help but to say “yes!” Or he’ll come up with big pleading eyes and say, “Sister, I need pencil.” Or “I need socks/toothbrush/insert any other necessity that a 7 year old can lose quickly here!” But really, he makes me laugh so much, so I had to share more of him with you!

The other day, I had one of those moments where I should have been the mature 23 year old sister, but I couldn’t help but respond as a 23 year old sister minus the maturity! You see, we were playing Uno in the sitting room, and one of the kids playing with us had to run out for a second. Well, his eyes began to sparkle as he gazed longingly around at all the couches adorning the walls fit for 16 children! Suddenly, he sprang from his crouched Uno position and exploded onto one of the couches and did the most perfect front flip, landing Indian-style on the seat. And I was like, “WHOA!” And I burst out laughing because of the sheer awesomeness and I couldn’t even scold him like I know I should have (you know your mom told you not to jump on the couch!). A huge grin plastered itself onto his tiny face and he did a couple more flips before deciding he better not push his luck. Then he was right back to his crouched position, ready to win another game of Uno. You would have never known that he had moved had you not seen him flipping!

Then, a few days later, he came wandering into the kitchen, looking for entertainment as so many 7 year old boys do, only to find Didi and I peeling and cutting potatoes for the curry. He looked on with mild interest which soon blossomed into intent interest as he found a large knife and began to peel a potato himself. I know, I know, you’re thinking, “what sort of missionary are you letting 7 year olds play with kitchen knives?!” But in that split second decision I had to choose whether to let him serve in his own special way or to take away his joy in helping us by taking the knife. Since the knife was pretty dull anyway, I let him continue to peel the potato. Didi and I watched with smiles on our faces as he peeled the one potato in the time it took us to peel and slice 15. But he helped. And when he finished peeling it, he walked over to me, washed it in the bowl of water and then gently cut it into small pieces and with an ear-to-ear smile put it onto the plate of potatoes for dinner. Totally worth the mild risk involved with letting a 7 year old boy peel a potato with large kitchen knives!

Finally, today after the kids ate I was sitting in the kitchen eating my rice, and in bounded Raju. He hopped onto the counter (another thing I shouldn’t let him do, but he can’t reach anything without climbing on the counter!) and grabbed a bowl. He then proceeded to search through the contents of his pocket until he came up with a couple of rubber bands which he proceeded to strap around the bowl. With amazement and wonder he gazed upon his deceptively simple creation. The end result: a two stringed miniature guitar. He then said “Sister! LOOK!” To which I praised his creative genius as he bounded out of the kitchen, strumming his new instrument. Oh to have the innocent awestruck wonder of a 7 year old!