Christmas in June

FRIDAY:
Shan and I did something crazy...we actually got up at 5:30 AM and ran. Weird, I know. My body didn't like it so much. Then we faced the day!

So we loaded up early in the morning to go to the countryside again, but this time with a surprise. More on that in a sec. So off to the first village we went! After we listened to the lesson given to the children, we were introduced to them. Theary asked the children if they wanted to know who we (Shan and I) were and they literally screamed yes haha So then I got to say, "Susade, knom chumah Mallory." And then, with Sharon's urging, I started my presidential campaign by telling them to stay in school, listen to their parents, work hard, and study very hard. After Theary introduced Shanleigh, we got to help pass out the snack like usual. It was fun and the kiddos were adorable. But THEN we went to the second village...

The second village we did the exact same thing...except then we got to help pass out gifts! You know the little shoebox Christmas gifts people do every year? You take the shoebox and get little things for the child named on the box that correlates to their age. A big organization that does that is called Samaritan's Purse. Anyways, we got to give those to the children and they were so happy. Really, I've never seen kids that happy over presents. I seriously caught myself thinking, "Awww Christmas is such a lovely time..." Except it's the middle of June haha it was so cool to see the other side of things like this Samaritan's Purse thing. I remember picking a box up with my mom and shopping together to fill it up and then returning it. We usually did something like that at school, but I remember the big Christmas tree in the mall with the names attached to it. It was just super cool to see that the little things like that that we do in America that seem sub-consequential actually do make it to their destination and actually do make a huge difference in children's lives. Keep on giving!

They were beyond happy. The day was perfect. Until we left. We got a call that the other truck was still at village #1 which means they probably missed the children because we only have a small window of opportunity to catch them in between school sessions. Having problems with this truck not starting on top of Thursday's fiasco was a real morale kicker for the staff, Sharon, and me and Shan. But Sharon has plans to go look at some new trucks this weekend, it's just that they are so expensive it is hard to buy. Much like the states, except this is a more important cause.

Once we got back to the city we went grocery shopping for a few things and then went back to our apartment! Shan and I watched Despicable Me to prep for the second one coming out soon and then we cooked for the first time in our new place:) it was pretty good. That ended our day, a super long good day, and we hit the hay.

Shan's

Mine

MONDAY:

Sharon and Dennis found another truck!! And the one that was impounded is going to hopefully be fixed and released! Even though Thursday was some bad luck with the trucks, the Lord has really blessed the situation into something super helpful!!

We went to the countryside again today and we got to give gifts again:) The kids were just as happy if not more than on Friday. Tomorrow we go to Dennis' school and sit in his lesson for a bit, Wednesday we get to give gifts as well, maybe go to the countryside Thursday, and Friday we are helping Sharon's friend Ravi with a daycare all day long!!! :) Got lots of fun stuff planned for this week. Today was so much fun, everyone just seemed light-hearted and ready to serve.

The kids were really fun too. At the second village, Sharon and I played with some of them that stuck around as we were cleaning up. They would run at us and we would turn back around and chase them then they would run away and we would have pretend conversations as we waited for them to come creeping back and then would attack again hahaha I said, "Own no ana?!" Which means, "Where are the children?!" and they laughed and laughed and laughed and ran away lol As we left they ran after our car. So sweet:) Keep in mind that if you would like to see all of our pictures go to my facebook and click on my album!!


We'll keep ya posted!
Peace and blessings.

Stay classy.
Mallory Jean