Treasuring Trash and Trashing Treasure?

Praise God! We have a transformer! And we’ve been having power at least part of each day! Ironically, even though we had zero power for 11 days in November, when I received my bill on Thursday I noticed it is double the usual amount. This is Congo, after all. The elections results are not officially being announced until next week but already rumors are flying. Continue praying for God’s peace to reign here.

Because of the rumors and tension, I didn't get to go to the orphanage this week. Last week during our visit I went over to the Patrick House to say hello to the kids there. This is the building that houses the children with severe disabilities or with AIDS. When I arrived the foyer was empty and a staff member led us to a playroom. We were taken by surprise because this room was brightly painted. There were padded mats on the floors and colorful toys lining all the walls(This REALLY surprised us because we almost never see toys anywhere when we visit). The room was full of kids, some in wheel chairs but most of them were sitting or lying on the mats. We made a point to talk to as many as possible, though only one girl was able to reply to our questions. We just basically sat with them, held their hands or patted their shoulders, and even sang a few songs for them. It struck me that there were all these nice toys all around them, but none of the kids seemed to be interested in or even notice them. Most of them weren’t capable of actually getting to the toys, but even when I handed some blocks to one child, she rejected them because what she really wanted was my plastic grocery sack. Unbeknownst to her, all it contained was a couple of bottles of bubbles that had leaked their contents into the bag. On the same day, in the courtyard where the toddlers and preschoolers play, I saw a little guy playing with the lid part of a tomato paste can. Not wanting him to cut himself, I took it from him and threw it away. His response was to throw himself on the ground, screaming and crying in anger. I wonder how often God has incredibly good gifts for us but we instead spurn them in hopes of keeping our garbage or even grasping more garbage. How often we respond in anger when He acts to protect us or correct us. Or how often He has surrounded us with signs of his love, creativity and power but we just don’t have our eyes open to see them. Praying we all go through this week with our spiritual eyes wide open and our hearts eager to receive all He wants to give us!