Thumbs Up!

A year ago when I came to Pemba, I saw this child for the first time and was totally drawn in. I actually thought he was a girl at first, some of you may remember me talking about Alfie (ow-fee). The only problem was that when Alfie would see me, he would cry. This happened a few times. But gradually he stopped crying. He still wouldn’t come anywhere near me, or look at me. Alfie always wanted to make sure there where other kids around and that I kept my distance. I would hide to take pictures of him. That sounds horrible, but others saw me... like hiding in the open.

I would try to openly get closer, first 15 feet, then 10 feet, then 5 feet. Over time I think he just decided that I wasn’t going away, I wouldn’t say he got used to me, he just figured out how to deal with me. Even after being here for four months, I could tell he just wasn’t to sure about me.

In Pemba, when you see someone, you don’t wave or smile to acknowledge them, you give them a thumbs up. The other day I was driving the truck and as I turned the corner to our road, there was Alfie and another little girl. I gave them a thumbs up and for the first time Alfie acknowledged me in a positive way! He gave me a thumbs up back and even a smile!

Later in the day when the kids were outside playing I joined them (it’s the day we played with the red ball). Alfie eventually came over to play and he was in the spunkiest mood I have ever seen. He was running around giggling, it was like the joy had been locked up inside of him and today it was bursting from every seam.

Each time I looked at him and gave him a thumbs up he giggled at me. He would come close and he would look me in the eye. He would run behind the house and so I decided to go to the other side and see what he would do. When he came back around the corner, I peaked out at him and he laughed so hard. Every moment I could I would hide and peak out at him (I’m not sure our relationship is to jumping out yet, so I just peak). He even started doing it to me. It was so fun.

Some of the older kids caught on to what we were doing and they naturally took it to far. I was sitting on our porch and someone picked him up to put him on my lap. He was screaming but it was a happy scream, but I put him down as soon as he got on my lap. I think lap sitting is just a bit to advanced for our relationship. I’d be happy if he sat down next to me.

I’m trying to go slow. Not to scare him. So I inch forward. I take pictures. I give thumbs up. I smile. It’s not much, but it’s where we are and I’m happy to be here.

For more pictures of Alfie and the kids playing, check out this link to Facebook pictures.

Prayer Request:
- We are currently working on half a building. I will blog soon about it, but in the mean time we need your prayers. The building is over budget and the builder is asking for more money than what was agreed upon. Adriano is going to call the builder today to see if he can work things out. Prayers for a good conversation full of grace, love and resolution.
- School starts next week!