Just to give you a few examples:
All in a matter of just a few days, we took Charlene to a state park near Bellevue, Iowa, introduced her to a family game called "Horse-Horse" while driving around the countryside, had her ride a horse for the first time, and then put her in a parade on the 3rd of July. She'd never even seen a parade and was so excited to spend the 4th of July in America! The very next day, Jessie, the four-year-old daughter of one of Kelsey's youth group leaders, was watching a parade in Bellevue with her mom when all of a sudden a couple of horses got spooked and ran several blocks through the parade route with a carriage behind them, and Jessie became one of the many injured people. We learned of this the next morning while in Pella, and as we were driving down the street there, we spotted a couple from our church here in Bettendorf, so we pulled over the van and chatted a bit with them about the accident, and she read me a text about the power of prayer in this little girl's life. She said "love you" before leaving the van and waving good-bye, and I don't even know this gal all that well! It really struck me because Charlene had frequently been commenting on how friendly everyone is here and had been blown away by the greeting time at our church on Sunday mornings. All of these circumstances were interesting to explain to her. Thankfully Jessie is improving, but prayers for her and her family are welcomed.
Kelsey lost a ring one day that was special to her, and normally when something like that happens, we'll eventually just stop and pray over the situation, and the lost item is found. Because Charlene was in our presence and praying was such a new concept to her, I chickened out and opted not to pray collectively with the kids. The ring has not been found, and there has been conviction going on in my heart whenever I think about it. Such a simple thing but such an opportunity that I missed. Then this week it was posted on Facebook that a lady from our old church was missing, and for two days I watched people collectively love on this family and pray over the situation, felt the agony in my heart of what they must be going through, and then praised the Lord with them when she was found! Prayer is truly an amazing thing!
Last Sunday morning I was writing some thank yous for Haley, and just a few hours later, I found out that one of the couples that I was writing to was making a visit to Harris's dad, whose cancer is getting the best of him. While they were all visiting, Heath and his girlfriend, Jenny, stopped in for a visit with Grandpa while they were in Pella, and thirty seconds after they decided to exit the room, Jenny got a phone call that her grandpa had just passed away. The timing and irony of the whole situation was very weird for both of them.
Early on in our month, we learned that one of the main reasons that Haley's group didn't get to leave the Paris airport and see the Eiffel Tower was because it's illegal to proselytize (recruit to one's faith) in France, and with a group of eager missionaries headed to Africa, the leaders didn't want to lose anyone to a jail cell in France. Soon after that I learned from someone else that one of the reasons for this is because the Muslims in Africa have made a point of budging their way into France. Charlene shared in a separate conversation that people in France are fearful to display their own country's flag because they are then accused of being racist.
Keep all of that in mind, and then consider that just a couple days before Haley left and Charlene came, Kelsey came home from a week of church camp where they learned about being bold in their faith and witnessing to the nations. All of this head and heart knowledge caused this Christian family to pray for a lot of wisdom in knowing how to best share our faith with Charlene in spite of the language and cultural barriers. It's interesting to note that out of all the topics for Charlene to experience in her visits to youth group with Kelsey, purity is the one that opened the door for much conversation between the two of them. Kelsey has encouraged her to maintain it, knowing full well that she will face much scrutiny amongst her peers who haven't. Charlene is intrigued by the concept of following Christ but is unsure how to carry out all the new things she has been learning in a culture where that's not the norm.
She has successfully worked her way deep into our hearts. When the subject originally came up of hosting a foreign exchange student, I'll admit that Harris and I were hesitant for a while. For me, I had heard a few stories about the challenges that can occur, and I just wasn't sure that I was ready to try it, but in all honesty, we couldn't have asked for a more wonderful experience. Charlene was the most pleasant, kind, fun, adaptable, content, and enjoyable person to have around. She ate anything we put in front of her, never suggested a hint of disgust or disappointment over anything we offered to feed or do with her, smiled and laughed and cracked jokes all the time, kept her room neat and clean, was quick to pitch in with chores, made a couple French meals for us, and had great hygiene! That became a little joke amongst us because she was amused that in our hosting handbook, we were warned that that could be an issue! The kids were all scheming in how we could help her miss her flight. She seemed genuinely sad to leave, but we assured her that she is welcome to come back anytime. She left a precious handwritten note for each of us, and we sent her home loaded with American memorabilia, a devotional, and a CD with the song "Glory to God" on it. The last-minute packing scenario wasn't quite as traumatic as Haley's was, but let's just say that we did successfully get the peanut butter in her bag! ;-) Haley was supposed to take peanut butter to Africa but couldn't get it in; Charlene opted to take peanut butter and maple syrup but left behind many of her toiletry items in order to do so!
Pray for her, would you? We've planted many seeds in her life, and now we're left to trust God that those seeds have fallen on fertile soil, that He will water and grow them, and that He will surround her with a support system back home that we aren't even aware of yet. She has definitely become a special part of our family, and it's really strange to think about the fact that she and Haley don't even know each other!
We sent Charlene home on the hottest day (heat index of 115!) we've had to date this summer. Too bad she had to wear some of her heavier clothing in order to keep her bag's weight limit under 50 pounds!
On the very same day that she was flying back to France, Haley was flying from South Africa to Zambia! How ironic is that! We haven't heard from her personally yet, but this morning there were a couple pictures on Facebook that I wish I could repost, but until I get permission, I'd better not do so. Just picture her with her fleece jacket and winter scarf draped around her neck! The weather is a little different there!
They will be roughing it in tents outside the orphanage for the next month with no real bathroom facilities, and they will be cooking over open fires. We went into this being told that our communication with her would probably be less while in Zambia than in South Africa, but her leader posted on Facebook that they are an hour away from internet and phones, so they should be able to post something every few days, which would be much more than what we've had so far! I won't hold my breath and will just be thankful for whatever we get. One of her leaders also posted a note to me that she had sat by Haley on the bus and that Haley was doing well physically. That was such a blessing to hear this morning! She'll be home three weeks from today, and we can hardly wait to see her!
In other news this week, we learned that there has been a terrorist bombing in Uganda, which is the country Beth was in last summer and where the girls first planned to go this summer. We're thankful they are not there!
Over the weekend we found ourselves sharing a traumatic story about Kelsey falling out of a grocery cart and hitting her head really hard when she was a baby, and then hours later we found out that my cousin's little boy Justin had fallen off a ladder and ended up with a skull fracture that required major surgery Saturday night. Praise the Lord He's doing well now!
Then I woke up this morning to a Facebook post from a gal asking for prayer for the Pella lifeguards who are processing the finding of two bodies at the bottom of the pool last evening. God bless all these victims of terrible tragedies! I had just had a conversation yesterday with a young gal who was telling me that she wanted to be a lifeguard because, in her mind, it was such an easy job ~ just walk around all summer and get a tan. Yes, it might appear to be easy until the unthinkable happens. Haley works as a lifeguard, so all these things just keep going through my mind!
It's all just too weird, isn't it? I'm not sure I have a moral to my story today. I just had to document this chain of events. The produce filling my kitchen and other messes around my house are calling my name. We've had a whole lot of fun this past month, but it's time for me to get to work!
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