rainbow.

Jolie my mother seems to be very very perceptive. Sometimes while
we are all hanging out around the little coal fire at night, I let my
mind drift. It's easy to do because I don't understand enough
Nangjere to catch their conversation. So I just let my eyes watch
the stars and my mind roll around in my head. But Jolie will catch
me and say, "Emily, what are you thinking about? Are you thinking
about your boyfriend?" She gets a really sweet smile on her
face. "Maybe." I respond. She asks me if I've gotten a letter from
him lately....if he is coming to visit. They think Alex is really
good looking. Which he is.
Then she asks me if I'm thinking about my family. She'll ask me
how they are doing. If they are healthy. I believe my worlds would
crash into eachother and produce a rainbow if my parents and brothers
came here and got to meet my African family. It would be that
good. It's something special.
The parents of my house haven't asked me to give them
anything. Nothing. This is really something incredible for this
culture and I've felt so respected by them. People ask me for
things all the time. "Give me your shirt." "Give me your
water-bottle." "Give me your banana." "Give me your hair." The
little kids like to ask for toys, balloons, or pencils.
I've made it my mission to teach the kids that asking for things is
not polite. :) I explain to them that "I want to be your
friend. But when you only say, give me this , give me that, I just
don't feel like I'm a friend. It's not good for me." The
lightbulb just went on in the adorable boy to whom I explained this
to the other day. He said, "Oh! Qui, Qui!" and he very seriously
said to all the other kids, "We shouldn't ask for things," and
grabbed my hand. Sweet.
I was washing my laundry at the well the other day and after I had
finished, a couple of the boys came over. They picked up the soap
bars (thank-you Holiday Inn) that I had been using and said they
liked them. I told the boys they could have them. The older boy
snatched the littler boys away from him and gave him the littler bar
of soap. This irritated me. I said, "Hey, why did you do
that. That was his." He said, "He's younger, he gets the smaller
one." I argued for a bit with the older boy and said, "It's better
when you give the bigger thing to the other person and take the
smaller one for yourself." He just kept shaking his head.
So, I pulled out a whole other bar of soap and placed it in the
hands of the littlest boy. The older boy instantly started reaching
for the brand new bar of soap! I said, "NO! That is for him. I
want to give this to him." Finally after I called him selfish he got
the hint. :)
The other day I was at the market and I had purchased a bag of dried
figs. They are so good...they have a seed in the middle but the
outer layer is like fruit leather. I was snacking on them on the
walk home as I passed one woman carrying a huge bowl of rice on her
head. She said, "Give me some!" I reached in and gave her a small
handful. Then I responded, "You give ME some!" She, without a
second thought and with a very serious face, reached up and took out
a handful of rice kernals and poured them into my palms. I was
slightly kidding with her, but she took me seriously.
Maybe there is something they are trying to say when they ask for
something. Like, "Show me we are friends, give me something of
yourself." Everytime I give without a second thought, I make a new
friend. And what is it to me after all? A few figs that I won't
get to eat. An attitude of selflessness is like a bowl of
onions. It gets in the air and effects everyone. It's easy to be
defensive and be paranoid that you are being taken advantage
of. Sometimes I feel stingy. :)
If someone asks for your tunic, give them your cloak as well. Did
Jesus really mean that? I think He just might have. Yikers. What
if our store houses run out! What if we give everything we
have! What if our baskets of loaves and fish don't multiply?
Then Jesus reminds us.....store up your treasures in heaven. The
moths and rats and cochroaches are going to eat things that we hoard
in our closets. I'm attached to alot of things. Certain clothes,
certain books, certain times of the day. I just don't want to give
them up. Chad challenges us kids to give freely...without second thought.