Perhaps Disney was on to something when he opened The Lion King with the celebration of a new life. Today we had the opportunity to celebrate the life of two girls in the home: a birthday celebration. The morning started with two little girls in Princess crowns sitting in the places of honor. Around the room sat the rest of us, eagerly awaiting our turn to wish the special girls happy birthday. Each girl, staff, or volunteer shares something positive that they like about the girl being celebrated along with their birthday well wishes. Then, we brought in the cupcake with glowing candles, one for each birthday girl as a chorus of children's voices serenade in their somewhat off-key manner to the tune of "Happy Birthday". When they'd blown out the candles, the girls were allowed to open their present. Each girl receives a new outfit, which we had purchased at the mall a couple days ago. Jeans and a cute top for the older girl. Cute dress with leggings for the younger girl. Then we transitioned to the dining room for the rest of the cupcakes, which were definitely a hit! Then again, chocolate tends to always be a hit!
We took a break before lunch to make bracelets, which resulted in a lot of chaos...but also a lot of beautiful bracelets. When we'd collected up all the stray beads, the girls dispersed to amuse themselves until it was time to eat. This meant more playing with hair and playing hand clap games, mixed in with some dancing and picture taking. After lunch, I got to help one of the girls practice reading in English, perhaps one of my favorite parts of the trip so far. (I'm an English teacher at heart...)
The celebratory atmosphere of today contrasted sharply with our brief trip to the red light district yesterday. The sun shining on the streets is rather deceptive, leading you to doubt what lies beyond the shadows. Project Rescue has opened a center in the area where the mothers of the girls can come to talk, to get prayed for, and to find out how their girls are doing. Meeting with the woman who runs this center was an amazing experience. That is truly a life to celebrate! She has dedicated her life to showing these women that there is a God who celebrates their life and that they are worth celebrating. Truly, God loves to celebrate life; he loves to celebrate us! We are His creation, His treasure, His children. He celebrates our victories. He celebrates our lives, and we are meant to celebrate right along with him. Makes me want to spontaneously break out into singing Disney songs...
We took a break before lunch to make bracelets, which resulted in a lot of chaos...but also a lot of beautiful bracelets. When we'd collected up all the stray beads, the girls dispersed to amuse themselves until it was time to eat. This meant more playing with hair and playing hand clap games, mixed in with some dancing and picture taking. After lunch, I got to help one of the girls practice reading in English, perhaps one of my favorite parts of the trip so far. (I'm an English teacher at heart...)
The celebratory atmosphere of today contrasted sharply with our brief trip to the red light district yesterday. The sun shining on the streets is rather deceptive, leading you to doubt what lies beyond the shadows. Project Rescue has opened a center in the area where the mothers of the girls can come to talk, to get prayed for, and to find out how their girls are doing. Meeting with the woman who runs this center was an amazing experience. That is truly a life to celebrate! She has dedicated her life to showing these women that there is a God who celebrates their life and that they are worth celebrating. Truly, God loves to celebrate life; he loves to celebrate us! We are His creation, His treasure, His children. He celebrates our victories. He celebrates our lives, and we are meant to celebrate right along with him. Makes me want to spontaneously break out into singing Disney songs...
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