"Auntie L"

I love being called "Auntie L", it makes my heart so joyful and brings back such pleasant memories. That, among others, is one of the reasons why I love the refugees.

They're such a funny bunch. No matter what you do with the kids they always say, "it's BORING" (I've always despised that word). Yet, when you bring them back home, they can do nothing but talk about how much fun they had. Go figure!

They're also a rowdy group. Last week I lost it and definitely yelled at them. This week as one of the older girls was getting on the bus, she found me and said,
"Auntie L, you’re the one who yelled at us that first day at camp, right?” (camp is what they call West Dallas).
“Yes, I am." I replied, feeling remorseful for my actions, yet at the same time, knowing they behaved much better the rest of the day. "Do you think I was wrong to yell at you?” I asked?
“No, we was being bad...you probably shoulda’ yelled at us sooner”
Such blatant honesty! I loved it and that comment most definitely brought a smile to my face.

Unfortunately, that smile was quickly wiped away as some older boys try to get on the bus. That was an interesting experience. It was a moment I wish there was a man around because I felt very small and un-intimidating. Nothing dramatic happened I could just tell the three of them were debating how serious I was when I told them they weren't coming. The flirtatious teenage girls didn’t help my situation. The boys looked from them to me and replied, "What if I got on the bus anyway?" I hate 'what are you going to do about it' challenges like that, especially when I have no idea how to respond. I tried something basic, "it's not going to come to that, cause you're going to turn around and walk away" surprised my response came with much more calmness than I felt. They looked at me, looked back at the bus, back and me, then walked away. I said a quiet thank you to God and let out a HUGE sigh of relief. Here’s hoping they don’t come back.

There are times with the refugees when I feel at a completely loss of what to say or what to do, but I'm beginning to see a change in them. They still push the boundaries (just like all kids do) and drive me crazy at times, but I love them.

We haven't made much progress as far as getting them to interact with the West Dallas kids, but we still have 3 more days :-)

Through the West Dallas camp we've had 20+ kids (West Dallas and Refugee) accept Christ as their Savior. Praise God for that!!

More stories to come...