Day #43

Today was quite a busy day. We started off this morning at Wallmansthall. The kids were so excited about decorating the room and having bright and colorful pictures hung on their walls. After decorating, I brought out the toys that were bought for them. This was a terrible idea on my part because I then had to wait about 30 minutes before trying to start the lesson. They were thrilled! It was so heartwarming to see their faces light up with joy. Wallmansthall has a special place in my heart after living there for a week and working with these children who remember me each time I visit.

After they calmed down, I started my lesson on fire safety. I was at first apprehensive on how it would go as this is a newly developed center and is more like a day care than school. However, they did such a great job and I was so proud of the teachers for their involvement as well. I also had one other helper today, Samantha.

Samantha is seven years old and also from Virginia. Samantha and her dad traveled here on Monday for a very special cause. Last year, Samantha decided that she wanted to make teddy bears to give to the kids in South Africa. This week, she is here with her 100 hand made teddy bears to distribute to the different under-resourced centers. What a beautiful moment it is to watch this brave and determined seven year old pass out her teddy bears to all of the kids!

After Wallmansthall, Debbie and Lonnie took us to our second location for the day. However, I had never been to this place before. On the way there, she explained that this particular place was a children's home rather than a school center. Here, kids that were once abandoned are taken care of until new families are found for them. When we got there, my heart immediately melted right there in my chest cavity. I first met a five year old girl who was a stroke victim at a very young age. She was SO beautiful and I was content just holding her hand and rolling the ball around.

Then, I met a sweet baby boy. He is four months old and first arrived at this children's home at just 10 days old after being abandoned. I immediately fell in love with this adorable baby boy. Because I have not held a baby since I last saw my nephew, I was dying to spend some quality time with him. As I fed him, he was so busy and curious of all that was around him and couldn't focus on drinking his bottle. In my efforts to get him settled, I started to gently sway him while singing to him Drake's favorite song, This Old Man. He drank his entire bottle. I can't fathom how anyone would be willing to give up that precious child.

My passion and love for kids seems to grow more and more with each passing day.

xoxo
Taylor

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