Smiling at Kids...

January 29, 2010
Sometimes the kids’ just make me smile. I mean, kids do funny and stupid things everyday that make you smile and laugh for a moment, but sometimes they’ll say something, and a smile will come from your heart and stay there for weeks. So, here are three tales that made my heart smile!

Tale #1:
One sunny afternoon, Rami, Manisha and I headed out to a children’s expo in the center of Kathmandu. We really didn’t know what to expect, but the principal had given me tickets, so we went! It turns out this expo was in a big mall on the fourth floor. We arrived, went through the Expo, and basically, it was just a lot of vendors trying to sell us their items at “wholesale price! guaranteed!” Well, we made it almost all the way through without spending a dime, when I saw one selling pencils; good pencils. Ones that won’t break every time you touch them! So, I caved in and spend $10 on pencils. Now that might sound like a lot, but I did get 200 pencils, 20 erasers, and 20 sharpeners for that amount. And in a home of 16 kids (counting Joshua and Benjamin), they’ll go fast! Believe me!

Ok, that really had nothing to do with my story, but at least now you know about the children’s expo! So, on our way down the stairs, we saw this woman sweeping the stairs. Since she was in uniform, I’m assuming that’s her job. When Manisha saw her sweeping the steps, she stopped, paused, and then looked the lady in the eye and said “Thank you for serving us!” Flabbergasted, the lady looked at her in surprise, and then a smile broke across her face! And across my face :). You see, over the past 5 months, the kids and I have been learning about being thankful and serving each other. And right there, Manisha showed me that she understood at a level that brought her to thank even a complete stranger! After leaving the mall, I asked her if she knew the lady, and she said that she didn’t. Then, she said, “But she was making things nicer for me, so I figured I should thank her!” A lesson we could all learn every single day!

Tale #2:
I didn’t find out about this until a few days after it happened, so I’m passing on something that was passed on to me from one of the kids. But, I’m pretty sure it’s reputable! So, we were in Gorkha, and the women of the church stayed pretty constantly busy cooking, everyday, all day. The food was excellent, and we needed as much of it as we could get!

Well, one morning, after breakfast, when Asha was taking her plate back to the field to be washed, she stopped and thanked the women for cooking. Again, with confusion, they looked back at her and said, “It’s our job to cook for you!” And Asha told them, “I know, but thank you for cooking for us!” To which they just smiled in happy confusion. Obviously, while Nepali’s are thankful people, they don’t often tell each other so, and this gentle change in the kids is causing some waves :).

Tale #3:
This one turns away from gratitude and moves into understanding God’s Word and the truth in it. To set the stage, one night during devotionals, one of the kids pulled out a Book of Mormon thinking it is another Bible. Well, confused as to where it came from and concerned about the kids’ possession of it, I took it, and told them that we would talk later about why it wasn’t ok (after I could organize the reasons into things that were understandable for 7-16 year olds!). I talked to Uncle about it, and it turns out it was from years before when he was studying other religions in seminary and the kids weren’t even supposed to have it. We’re not sure how they got it!

So, the next night, for devotionals we were on Galatians 1:6-10, where Paul addresses false teachers who preach any Gospel besides that of Jesus Christ. Well, Rami, who is ever quick to pick up on what God’s saying in Scripture questioned, “Sister, is this why you didn’t like that book last night and took it? Does it preach another Gospel?” And I was like, wow! She gets it! So, I broke into a smile and said, “Yes, that’s exactly why I don’t like that book! God’s given us all we need in the Bible. To preach another gospel is not Christianity!” Her faith really inspired me. God’s taught her to understand His Word and to apply it to any situation! Something that I hope God continues to teach me as well! So, while I spend most of my time teaching the kids, there are those moments when I can just sit back, smile, and learn from them!