a place i love

JoyBells has been so great. Between last week and this week I feel like so much has happened. Sorry it's taken me so long to blog about it.

Joy left on Monday to go to Ladakh. There has been some major flooding there, and she and her son have gone to try and round up all the kids and make sure they're all ok. The kids are scattered around in the different little villages where they were originally born, and so Joy and her son David have been trekking from village to village trying to find them. You can be praying for their safety as they are over there and also that they would be able to find each and every sweet kiddo, and get them home safe and sound.

The crew in Ladakh won't be home for at least another month because the roads are completely gone due to the flooding, and so I will still just be hanging with the younger set for a while. This past month they haven't had to do any school because all the older ones are gone and it's "holiday" right now. So we've just been playing for the most part. Plus, now Joy Ma is gone and that throws things off too, for sure.
Whenever she's gone, the older ones take care of the younger ones and they are definitely in charge, but at the same time the oldest ones (meaning 9,11,12) just do whatever they want. I got there yesterday and all 20 of the younger kids were sitting in rows on the ground with their eyes closed. Anytime they moved they got yelled at. Meanwhile, the other 5 older kids were making bracelets and doing origami…hmm. I asked Saydim what they were doing and she replied- "sitting there with their eyes closed so that they cannot be naughty." I asked her how long they'd been sitting there and she told me about an hour. Sounds like so much fun doesn't it?!? Guess that's one way to watch kids. After a little discussion with the older ones, we decided that we should do an activity that everyone could be involved in :) So we got the soccer ball out, found a couple frisbees, and played soccer and ultimate ALL morning and afternoon. They got some energy out for sure! We played soccer for a couple hours and then I taught them Ultimate. They loved it! We had lots of fun.

A few weeks ago I had the idea of buying them a keyboard and teaching them how to play and read music. They LOVE to sing, and I thought it would be fun if they knew how to accompany each other with music. When I asked Joy what she thought of this idea she told me that they already had one, they just never get it out or use it because no one knows how. She thought it sounded like a great idea, and told me I was more then welcome to teach them. The kids showed me the keyboard this week, and are so excited to start lessons! It's not the best keyboard on the planet, but I think it'll work fine. It's my goal to get some books this next week, so we can get this thing underway. I'm excited that they're so excited!
We've spent the last 2 weeks playing soccer, (and Frisbee:)) reading books, learning new songs, eating, laughing, doing crafts, weaving bracelets, memorizing verses, and just hanging out. Lot's of hugs, laughs, and smiles. It's been so great.

These past couple weeks it's really hit me much these sweet kiddos desire to learn and how they latch on to every word you say. They soak it up. That both excites me and also makes me a little nervous, but I am so thankful to be able to be there regularly and speak truth into these kids lives. We've had some really neat conversations about a lot of different things. One of their favorite books to have me read to them is a children's bible. They all gather around me on the floor and we just read and read. They always have a million questions, which has led to some awesome conversations. I have to tell you about one of my all time favorite moments so far....

Last week I was talking to a couple of the kids, Saydim and Pema. Saydim is 8 and I have gotten to know her really well. Pema is 9. He's quiet, but he's a leader for sure. We were reading something and they started asking me about the crucifixion. Joy is definitely a believer and has taught these kids about Jesus since they were little. They know a lot about Jesus and how much He loves them, but they have never heard about actually accepting Him into their hearts. I learned this through my conversation with those two kiddos. I can't remember what question led to this, but somehow we started talking about being a child a of God and they started asking different questions about heaven and hell and why Jesus died. After a while Saydim said- "what do you mean accept Him into my heart? I've never heard that before. Have I done that?" From there, we stared talking about salvation and eternity. After I had read a few verses and explained it all to them, Saydim said- "When you come back on Sunday will you help me do that? Because I love Jesus so much and I want Him to come live in my heart too."
I explained to her that she can talk to Jesus whenever and wherever-she didn't have to wait till Sunday. So she decided that she wanted to "Right now." Pema then piped up and said "Me too! I want to ask Him into my heart too! I can't wait to be with Him forever." Precious.
I guess I kind of just assumed they already had, or at least knew what it meant, because they knew so much about Him. But they didn't, and just got more and more excited the more I talked.
So we prayed together, and now Jesus has two more sweet children who will one day spend eternity in His arms. Afterwards I told them that the angels in heaven were all singing and dancing right then because they were so incredibly happy about the decisions they just made. Pema got tears in his eyes, a huge smile on his face, and said "That makes me feel so special. I never knew I could talk to God like we just did. I feel it in my heart that He heard me." Wow. I'm amazed again and again by my Jesus. He is such a personal God. That was one of the sweetest moments I have ever been apart of. I am so thankful to have been there and see firsthand what Jesus is doing in these kids hearts. He called them and they answered. I love it when we get the privilege to join Him where He's already working and see what He's doing in people's lives. It's the coolest.