Elizabeth and Anna Mei at the brick pile.
One of the staff members at Dai Loc throws me a brick.A busy week as we have been preparing for a small team from CBN to comevisit our work and gain an update since they were last here in the fall. At Dai Loc, we have been busy painting everything in the children's rooms that doesn't move. There are now colorful pictures on the walls--small murals of hearts, butterflies, puppies, fish, tigers, pandas--every room has something different. New furnishings, new curtains--it is really taking shape!
Yesterday I was at Dai Loc helping with some of the clean up. There was a large pile of bricks left from one of the building projects. I'm not particularly skilled at many things, but I can stack bricks. So, the girls and I began to stack them. It wasn't long until a couple of the orphanage staff joined us. Then, kids began to wander over. Before long,we had a crew of about a dozen. We started out each picking up two bricks at a time and carrying them to the neat stacks. Soon, a couple of the boys started to work together, one carefully tossing a brick to his buddy,who then simply turned and put it on the stack. Soon, we had several lines going, tossing bricks from the shrinking pile and placing them neatly on the stack. The work went so fast. And it was fun. We didn't need a translator, or instruction--we just did it. If someone would ever have suggested that I would enjoy stacking bricks in 100-degree-plus weather, I would have scoffed. :)
Tony shared the sweetest story with me. He was at Dai Loc a few days ago. The normal schedule in the Vietnamese culture is to take a rest time immediately after lunch, much like a siesta. So, Tony found an empty room at Dai Loc and stretched out on the wooden bed frame. It wasn't long till one of the young boys came in the room and laid down beside him. He put his head on Tony's arm, and his own arm stretched across Tony's chest, and went to sleep. I'm sure he felt comforted, safe, and peaceful. Bless him, Lord.
It has been a joy and privilege to get to know the children and staffbetter at Dai Loc. Thank You, Lord, for these experiences! And, I thank the Lord for all those who have partnered with us in prayer and in financial giving to make the way for us to do this work. Every prayer and every gift is like throwing us another brick to work with. Because of you, a pile of hardships is being removed. A heap of chaos is finding order. Lives are being built with materials of hope, kindness,and affirmation.
So...thanks for the bricks...
Grace and peace!
