People series #6 - Kevin

Kevin doesn’t know when his birthday is, so we decided he could share mine.  We also don’t know how old he is… maybe 10?

Kevin has the cutest smile I may have ever seen.  He will jump into my arms or snuggle up with on the couch and his always good for surprise kisses that catch you off guard.  He is a kid, for sure.  He tries to be grown up and pretend like he is mad or doesn’t care, but he does and you can see it in his face.  He is excited about everything, loves singing “waka waka” and will even dance if he doesn’t know you’re looking.  Recently he’s been staying out too late and its just not safe.  After a couple times of running away from me, he came and sat in my lap and let me tell him how much I love him and how worried I am about him.  Now he has a watch… we’ll see if he gets home on time.  He loves school, especially the computer lab, and always wants to play on the ipod, well, they all do. :)  Kevin will wag his finger at us and say “no puedo, no puedo” (I can’t, I can’t) but is always good for a laugh when we do it right back (yes you can, yes you can!)

Newsletter May 2012

If you want to get my newsletter with pictures, please email me at ssinnes@gmail.com to be added to my email newsletter list! May 2012 blog

People series #5 - Ever

Ever is 11, or maybe 13.  His mom swears that his birthday is not what his birth certificate says.  But her name is actually not on his birth certificate either, so there is actually no telling.

Ever went to school this year for the first time EVER!  And he loves it!  He is more on the shy side and keeps to himself.  He was ashamed to report that he got in trouble one day for talking in class, surprisingly out of character for him, but I don’t think it will happen again.  He has the sweetest servant’s heart and gives me hugs every time he walks in the door.  He loves us and loves being at our house.  And we rarely have any problems from him.  He is more of a follower, so when the others misbehave he can follow right along behind.  But I think he’s learning to stand more on his own two feet, I hope so.  He loves coming to church and accepted Christ about a month ago.  I am praying that the Lord grows him up and really changes his life.  He likes to go to Sunday school until Kevin says he doesn’t want to go :)  He’s a sweet kid for sure.

oops

So the refrigerator at the girls home stopped working 4 days after the warranty ended, about 2 weeks ago.  Awesome.  The motor was dead… alas.  At least it wasn’t a dead rat, which seems to be another common appliance problem!  Anyways, called the guy, got a used motor, and got it fixed for $100… not too shabby.

Two days ago the refrigerator wasn’t cold.  Again.  I went and rescued the meat and started calling my appliance friend from Tel Aviv to tell him he had to do something for us.  8 calls later he finally answered… “okay, I’ll call the repairman”.  12 calls and 2 days later I haven’t heard back from him, or the repairman.  So I call C…

“C, has the repairman come to fix the fridge?”
”No Susana”

So I pump myself to let them have it and drive over to the store.  Boss man who speaks English isn’t there so I start letting the girl have it about the situation in Spanish and how all the food is going bad, etc. etc.  Well the repairman said he came and so now she calls him and calls him a liar and he’s upset and she’s upset and I’m upset.

Then I think, I should make sure.  I call Oneyda.  Oh yeah, he came yesterday and everything is working fine.

How embarrassing.

People Series #4 - Jeffri

Or his name could be spelled Jeffrey.  He tells me something different every time :)

I’ve known Jeffrey since last summer.  He is a full-fledged teenager at the age of 15.  He has an attitude that is hard to contain.  He loves to shake his head no while saying yes or vice-versa so you never know if he is being a jerk or agreeing to do what you asked.  And he thinks its terribly funny.  You know how teenage boys are before they get their sense of humor figured out?  That’s him :)  And he would do anything for us.  He comes by sometimes just to say hello.  He’s still a kid and loves sneaking into the play place at pizza hut to play soccer with the younger boys.  He is doing GREAT in school, working hard, and staying motivated.  He is turning into an adult before my very eyes.  He is responsible and will run errands for me if I ask.  He cares about his family and I love seeing him with his little brothers.  He wants what is best for them and is clearly out to protect them.  He comes to church faithfully and I think at this point is actually listening to the sermons :)  I want him to be in a youth small group, but it will have to wait until after he’s done with school at night.  Pray for a man who could disciple him.

People series #3–G & E

Its only been about 3 weeks since G&E came to join us.  G is the oldest at 22 and E is 18 months.  They came straight from a really hard home situation in a shack by the river where they struggled to have enough to eat.  They came with what they were wearing and that’s about it, but G trusted me, and that speaks volumes.

By far the most thoughtful and sweet of all the girls is G.  She has a strength and maturity that can only come from the Lord.  She has been through so much, but has come out of it without being hard and bitter… that’s a miracle.  She is kind and a gift-giver with a servant’s heart.  She is thankful for everything.  Even now, she doesn’t understand grace and free gifts.  She wants to work to pay me back and that mentality applies to her relationship with the Lord also.  It has been sweet to be able to be a picture for her of the good gifts that the Lord has for her in His grace.  Last week she started 5th grade for the first time and will hopefully graduate from 6th grade in November.  Then she can pursue other skills classes, like sewing and cooking and beauty school.  She is independent, but so good at living in community.  She’s more of an introvert and needs her space.  She has another sweet son that I got to meet who is 4 years old and lives with his dad for now.  She has the utmost respect for her mom and treats her with kindness that is far more than her mom deserves.  She is a quiet soul.  I love seeing her smile and knowing that she feels safe and secure for the first time in a long time.

E is a bundle of energy.  This child cannot sit still, except for a short book every once in awhile if he gets to turn the pages!  He loves being outside and throwing things.  Pure boy.  He will eat anything and is pretty obedient most of the time.  And he cries, a lot.  He has some understandable separation issues and if he can see his mom, he wants her holding him.  He has a killer smile.  He loves the ocean, the sand, puppy dogs, chickens, and often falls asleep in my arms.  He goes hard and then just crashes.  He’s a chunky deadweight when he’s sleeping, but I love it :)

People series #2–C & W

C & W came to us second after living for a year at a different children’s home outside of the city.  C is 18, has graduated from high school and just took her entrance exam for university.  W is the youngest of the babies at 6 months old.

C is good at everything.  Its true and kind of sickening :)  She can draw, paint, sew, cook, sing, learn guitar, etc, etc, etc.  She is so bright and a quick learner.  And she loves technology, TV, ipod games, whatever she can get her hands on.  She also loves to read.  It was a treasure to my heart when she read “Redeeming Love” and after every chapter would summarize the story for the others so that they could “read” it too!  She is organizing, motivated, and on top of things.  She wants to learn English and is working really hard at communicating.  So far she can sing “You’re Amazing Just the Way you Are”, I mean, we have a ways to go :)  She’s a little more sly in behavior and is the one who will find a way to sneak around the rules.  She is my personal Spanish tutor and isn’t afraid to kindly correct me.  She is a great mom and loves W so well.  She really loves Jesus and her life is changing as she grows in Him.  She’s the first to make connections between what we’re studying and her daily life.  A couple weeks ago she shared the Gospel with her aunt spitting out everything that we had been talking about, it made me so proud of her and all that she is learning and soaking up.  She wants to learn to drive my car which isn’t happening anytime soon :)  She is full of energy and a total extrovert.  And she painted my mom Eeyore, how cute is that?

W steals the hearts of everyone we meet.  He just has that cutest baby ever look about him and people fall for it every time.  He loves to be held and sometimes screams if you don’t oblige.  We’re trying to teach him to love the stroller and to fall asleep on his own, he’s not really going for it.  He just got his first two teeth and eats anything within his reach.  He crawls a little bit and is super ticklish.  He will never lack for cute shoes, as those seem to be his mother’s weakness :)