Spring Cleaning and "Our Friend"

Today I finally had enough of our filthy home (okay...it looks clean enough on the surface, but I know when the last time was that I actually scrubbed the floor!) Logan and Owen caught my excitement to clean when I started moving all of the furniture. I was impressed that they remained quite helpful for a couple of hours before they were ready to be "all done." Perfect timing for a knock on the door. It was an 11-year old friend of ours who always brings me great joy! I opened the door. She didn't speak. I asked her if she wanted to come in. She entered...still not speaking. I asked her if she wanted to play Play-Doh with the boys. She shook her head. Hmmm. We weren't making much progress. I finally discovered that she was sad because she couldn't find any other kids to play with...they were all sleeping (at 2pm...understandable since school is out and the sun and the youth are up until the wee hours of the morning). She didn't feel like doing anything, so she said, so I continued cleaning and before long, she was playing with the boys. She stayed for an hour or so until I began mopping the floor with my vinegar/alcohol/water mixture. She crinkled up her nose and said, "What's that smell?" I told her and she looked miserable. I asked her if she wanted to leave. She nodded and walked to the door. I said, "Boys, say 'goodbye.' Our friend is leaving because she thinks our house stinks." Success...after over an hour, she smiled:) She returned later, with a friend, and confirmed that our house did not stink anymore.

Sometime before Christmas, I began doing a Kid's Church on Tuesday evenings. I never knew who would show up and, in the beginning, (before the kids knew I was serious about kicking them out if they didn't listen!)chaos would ensue and I would feel like I was back subbing in innercity Grand Rapids. So why was I doing this? One evening we went to a volleyball game at the school and this girl (who I wrote about above) came up to me. She was very excited and said, "I remember." "Remember what?" "I remember the verse you taught us!" "Really? What is it?" Now, she looked a little nervous and I must be honest that I had my doubts. She said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself." Well, what do you know? Someone was actually listening!:)

Sadly, but as I'd learned was typical, I didn't see her again for several weeks until her grandmother's funeral. I think it was our largest funeral with over a hundred people present...by far, the most people we'd ever seen in the church at any one time! The girl was supposed to sing "Jesus Loves Me" but when her turn came she began crying and couldn't do it. I gave her a reassuring look. During the "open sharing time" at the end, she came to me and asked, "Will you sing that song with me...the Love the Lord your God song?" In my head, I said, "Are kidding me? There are over a hundred people here. I don't sing in front of people who are older than 12 years old and I don't even sing that song well when I try in a room all by myself!" To her, I replied, "Sure...but you have to sing too!" She laughed and said she would. When we were up on the stage together, she leaned over and whispered, "I don't remember the words." Great!! Ha, Ha! So "we" sang and it sounded horrific, but it was beautiful and received with smiles and tears.

I didn't see her again for a couple of months due to my travels and winter setting in, but one day, she showed up on our doorstep. I asked her if she would come to Kid's Church if I started having them again. She nodded. She has come every week since, remembering even without me calling her (which is a super big deal here!) In the midst of the chaos of other kids teasing each other and moving around and me constantly having to bring them back to the point, she sits there like a sponge absorbing every word out of my mouth. It is so rewarding to have her there and also scary to think of how much responsibility I have not to teach her wrongly! As our relationship has developed, I've really become fond of this child, but was also aware that I was probably just another person in her life. A couple of weeks ago, she came over after school and was having a snack when a lady from our church also came over and they exchanged some words in Yupik. I asked her what she said. She looked bashful and said, "I told her that you are becoming like my mom."