WATCHING OUT FOR OTHERS.....

Yesterday, as I was walking Charlie along a slippery sloped path, I slipped and fell on my hand leaving a slight scratch. I put on a band-aid and went on in to work. The babies all noticed the scratch and were all asking me if it hurt. Some of them also showed me their owies and where they had fallen down. Sometimes it is good to notice the wounds of others around us and to take the time to empathize with them. We need to help each other up along the path and to be child-like in our love and care of each other.

HELP A SNAKE....

This morning when a girl was cleaning my (Paul's office) she suddenly screamed and said; there is a beast!! I went to look and yes there was a beast, a snake! It wasn't that big, only about 15 inches, and it turned out it wasn't poisonous but we were all screaming and yelling. here in Brazil the snake is called a "Cobra Cega" a blind snake. This little incident made me think of how it goes in our lives. Everything is going well until a little" snake" shows up and we lose sight of what we are doing. My prayer today is that i will be able to keep my eyes on the Lord and that little snakes will not be able to take my eyes away from Him.

TIRED BUT HAPPY....

Everyday I come home from work very tired, but with a happy heart. I am tired because of raising 15 babies and toddlers, and happy, because of the wonderful moments shared with them each day. They are growing and healthy. Eight will be starting preschool at the end of the month. 6 have been potty-trained in the last month. They are learning to talk and love. They take our hands and tell us all their stories. They pile onto our laps whenever we sit down on the couch or in the grass. They are delighted with every new thing. Yesterday after eating their yogurts we let them play in their sandboxes and washed the plastic yogurts cups to use as shovels in the sand. As I left to go home to make Elisa and Jeremy lunch, and I saw all of them happy and playing till their hearts content, it gave me such a grateful feeling

a little gift can be a huge blessing.....

Jill's first day at the project after her trip to America was just wonderful. She had bought little presents for all the babies and toddlers, and wow, they were so excited. The sunglasses were a big hit. It is amazing how excited and grateful the kids were with those little gifts. That makes me think how we can bless people with little tiny gestures. A birthday wish on Facebook, a phonecall or email. Who can I bless today? who can you bless today?

Blessings and prayers....

A big blessing to Lar Feliz is always the many prayers, support and gifts towards the children. A group of our friends sent 4 boxes with a gift bag for each of the children last November. Unfortunately until now only 2 boxes have arrived and customs decided to keep 2 for investigation. We filled out all the paperwork so hopefully one of these weeks they will be released. Since the time was passing by and we have high temperatures in Brazil, we decided, with permission of our friends, to open the bags and just divide the contents with all the kids. It was such a blessing for them to receive all those american goodies. Pray for our kids. Boy do they need it. Pray for us too, boy... do we need it!!