Hey Everybody,
Today is Lydia and Natalie’s day to blog, so we’re going to
use teamwork and share our perspectives as one. We started off the day with a
delicious breakfast, thanks to our wonderful staff. We got ready for the day
and headed off to LaPhare. This orphanage was full of joyful children and lots
of fun. We spent most of our time painting little girl’s nails. What we
discovered was that the girls especially liked the silver glittery nail polish.
Not on their nails but spread on the top of their hands. That little bit of
glitter worked wonders for us. At the end, everyone gathered together and sang
songs. The children sang beautifully, it was such a moving experience. We then
drove to Papillon and got a tour of the workshop, ate delicious food, and
shopped ‘til we dropped. Then it was back to the guesthouse to regroup and get
ready for the afternoon. Half of us went to the Home for the Sick and Dying,
while the other half went to an orphanage called For His Glory. Lydia and I
went to For His Glory. We pulled up and the kids were overwhelmingly welcoming.
We painted the girl’s nails, the crowd of them was never ending! We officially
became professional nail painters today. After the crowd died down, our half of
the group put on a skit about David and Goliath. Lydia and I were the sheep.
The interpreter did a fantastic job; the kids were engaged and loved it. Then
as a thank you, some of the children sang to us. The first girl who came up had
an amazing voice. We all were in awe as we watched her sing without any music,
not even a guitar, it was amazing! A few other girls came up and performed for
us, all were so fun to watch. Then out of nowhere, one of our leaders named
Smith, said, “next up to sing is you young lady,” and pointed to me (Natalie).
Now, I belt it out in the shower and in the car, but in public it’s a different
story. Saying I was speechless is an understatement. I had a little boy on my
lap and Smith took him off of me and pulled me up. Lydia volunteered to sing
with me, and I was extremely grateful for her in that moment. I knew I had met
a best friend for life. We sang 10,000 Reasons with the soundtrack playing in
the background. It wasn’t until later that I found out Lydia told Smith to pick
me instead of her, and then felt guilty so she sang with me hahahaha. However,
I’m extremely thankful Lydia and Smith pushed me out of my comfort zone because
I wouldn’t have done it without them. After we were done, Natalie led the group
in a closing prayer, thanking the Lord for all of the unbreakable bonds made
today. We headed back to the guesthouse and hung out with the neighborhood
boys, watched them play soccer, and blew bubbles with the little girls.
Overall, today was, as Scott said, “imperfectly perfect in its own way.” That’s
it from us for the night.
Xoxo,
Natalie and Lydia
