The Hills Are Alive!

Last week was VBS week at the Home. Instead of having regular school, the children attended VBS classes in the morning, then had discussion and games after a break for chai and refreshments. For lunch, the whole campus ate together in the big auditorium. Free time was in the afternoons, and in several of the evenings all the children gathered again in the auditorium for a movie night. The whole week was a blast and the finale to it all was a picnic next to a large canal in which the children (and I) swam and played. I’ve never seen so many children enjoy water so much!

The picnic location was about 5 miles from the Home’s campus. Many of the children wanted to walk and a group of 4^th grade girls convinced me to walk with them. With a guitar slung over my shoulder as I walked over hill and stream through the Asian jungle with little hands tucked into mine, I felt much like Maria from The Sound of Music. The trek was so fun that it wasn’t difficult for the girls to convince me to walk back to the Home with them in the afternoon, despite the 104 degree heat. The day was easily one of the most fun days I’ve had in my life. It’s amazing to me how much dearer these children become to me each day that I spend with them.