Today will be one for my life book.  One of those moments where Jesus came right down and sat beside me and said, “Listen up Laura.  Soak up every moment because this day is for your heart.  These moments are to remind you of Me…Me and the deep love I have for you and all My children.”

The kids here amaze me.  Just absolutely floor me.  They are gorgeous, smart children with infectious loud laughs and eyes that are ocean deep.

We spent the first part of the day just hanging with the kids…just playing and sitting and smiling and laughing. Then we filled bags with things like peanut butter and crackers, beef jerky, trail mix, Skittles, dum dum suckers, matchbox cars, bubbles wands, pencils and plastic gold medal necklaces.  I felt giddy and wild with excitement as I sat on the concrete floor apart of this assembly line of people who were filling these bags.  I was in charge of the gold medals and the matchbox cars.  I so wanted pictures, but there I sat filling bag after bag after bag.

We also colored wooden Christmas ornaments.  When planning for a trip like this you think you have all these “good” ideas, but then when you’re here…you’re actually with the kids…you realize your good ideas weren’t that grand after all.  The plan was for the kids to color these wooden Christmas ornaments and then return them to their sponsor church back in Tennessee, well that just wasn’t happening after we watched them pour into these ornaments.  Most of them were extremely precise with their coloring and after watching them, well, we just couldn’t take them away.  They were theirs.

We were able to do another home visit with one of the grandmothers, or go-gos, who cooks at the care point each day for the kids.  Her homestead was beautiful.  It was meticulous and she took great pride in it…as she absolutely should.  Gathered around her were all her grandchildren.  All I could think as I watched her engage with them and listened to part of her story was, “Her children arise and call her blessed.”  It was an honor to be able to visit with her at her home.  An honor.

And for the majority of the day we fitted and sized and gave away around 150 pairs of new shoes.  I wanted to cry and sob.  I wanted to wash every foot I held in my hands today.  I found myself thinking so hard about where all these feet had been…the miles they had traveled…the wear they had endured…the lives they’ve lived thus far.  How far beyond their years they should really be.  God sat there reminding me of how precious and amazing and special and uniquely designed and created each one of these children are.  How blessed and honored I was to be holding their feet in my hands.  How humbled I should be to even remotely be apart of giving them a new pair of shoes.  It was a moment I will never forget.  Engraved deep in my heart are these children’s feet.

An overwhelming day and my heart might explode.  Feeling just so crazy blessed to be here…to meet these children and people…the spend time with them…and begin the anticipation for what all God has in store.  It’s sure to be grand and I cannot wait…absolutely cannot wait to see what He’s going to do.

Happy Tuesday!

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If you’re interested in more information on this possible July trip to Swaziland, Africa feel free to send me an email at pitterpatterart at gmail dot com and I’ll get you some more information.

Have an awesome Wednesday.