Boy, did I
ever get a wake up call this morning. As usual, getting to school was rush,
rush, rush….but we got there by 7:30am. Joshua is still having a bit of a
difficult time when we drop him off but he settles within a few minutes and
does well for the rest of the time. Today, he wimpered as I gave him to the
teacher but, Praise God, it was not an all out cry/scream we usually get. At
the school, I have many of the young kids want to shake my hand…because I am
white….but I have made a conscious decision not to shake their hands. I will
say “bonjour” and wave, but I don’t shake their hand. If I shake even one
child’s hand, I am inundated with multiple kids surrounding me, just to shake
my hand. Joshua becomes very intimidated with so much attention from so many
kids and then it becomes very difficult to leave him at the school. To stop
some of the blatant attention, I usually interact very little with other
children at the school….with the exception of one little girl. She is so tiny,
and adorable and once in a while, she will run and give me a huge hug. That
behaviour, I embrace.
My
awakening came when I was walking home from dropping the kids off at school.
When I am walking alone, without Charles, many people who walk past me put out
their hand to ask for money. As a result, I don’t make eye contact with many
people to avoid the confrontation. As I continued on my way, I saw a man coming
towards me in the distance. Right away, I made a judgement based on what I
thought he was wearing. From a distance, on his very thin frame it appeared as
if he was wearing dirty red/brown jeans and an old dirty dress shirt. As we
approached each other, I was thinking how I would respond when he asked me for
money. I had already made my judgement on this man. When we were very close, I
realized how wrong I was. The jeans were not supposed to be “blue jeans” but
rather a greyish brown, and a bit stylish… and the shirt was clean but he wore
it casually. Another young man beside us started talking to him and his face
broke out in one of the biggest smiles I have ever seen. The two men engaged in
a very friendly and jovial conversation but because of my judgements, I missed
a friendly greeting with a very nice young man.
It got me
thinking as to how do these automatic judgments quietly weave their way into
our hearts and minds? Do we always recognize when we have made a preliminary
judgement against someone else? Are we in tune to our own thinking where we
recognize and correct ourselves when we have made a misjudgement? God tells us
in the Bible, “Do not judge lest you be judged. For in the way you judge, you
will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.”
(Matthew 7:1,2 NIV) Lord, forgive me for my judging heart against others; help
me to recognize and change my mindset. Thank you, Lord, for a renewing every
morning. Great is thy Faithfulness my Lord.
 |
| Savana reading a story |
For our
family, this week has been very interesting spiritually. On Sunday, Savana was
reading the book “Have You Filled a Bucket Today” by Carol McCloud in the
morning before church. The concept of the book fit completely with what Charles
was preaching on… ..encouraging others. Savana bravely went to the front of the
chapel, infront of 250 people she bravely read the book. She did an awesome job
and we are very proud of her!
 |
| Staff/students encouraging each other |
Micah has
been our little evangelist. At school, he is asking all his classmates if they
know God. He was shocked to find out that some kids at school don’t even know
God. It is great to be in a country where we can talk about God freely and
openly anywhere! As he and I were talking yesterday, we got talking on how
Jesus and God are the same which lead into the discussion about the Holy
Trinity. I was surprised to hear the
questions coming from ou young 5 year old boy. At the end, I am not sure if
he fully understood the Trinity; my goodness, many adults have difficulty
understanding the concept, let alone a young child! I am sure there will be
many more discussions such as this but I thank God for His Spirit being active
in Micah’s heart.
 |
| Darla & Savana with GIA girls |
School at
GIA is going well. Students are settling in and getting into a routine. Charles
is having fun teaching his classes, personally ministering to staff and
students, and working at making chapel fun and exciting. I have been kept busy
on the nursing side of things. Daily I see approximately 20-25 students when I
am there in the morning. A praise item: We are now 2 months into the school
year and we have NOT had one case of malaria, and only 1 case of typhoid (the
student had it when he arrived at the school). Yahoo!! I have worked with the leadership of
GIA to incorporate stricter rules for using mosquito nets and for incorporating
hand washing, and the results are paying off! Please continue to pray for
wisdom for me in deciphering true illnesses with the students. Some students
want to go home so they create symptoms to say they are sick. I had one girl
who started with a small scratch on her leg but she took foreign substances and
rubbed in the wound to create a deep, infected wound. Other grade 7 students
are in my office 2-3 times every morning with a variety of “ailments”.
Sometimes I need good assessment skills to know if the students are telling me
the truth and are truly sick, or if they are creating sickness.
We pray for
blessings over each and every one of you who are walking this journey with us.
Continue to pray for us as we work with the staff and students at GIA. Please
also pray for our finances to continue to come in. We are planning to be in
Burundi until April 2015 but currently our financial status is a bit short.
Thank you for those who have provided financially for us during this time and
if God leads you to give towards our mission, you can do it through two
organizations. Bridges of Hope, based in Lethbridge, as well as Youth Unlimited
Edmonton (aka Youth For Christ).
God Bless,
Darla
Balenga
Online Donations:
Mail:
Bridges of Hope,
PO Box 81 Stn Main, Lethbridge,
AB, T1J 3Y3 CANADA
(877) 460-6036
