Well, the boys have all moved back in and Ira is keeping them busy. When the teams were here in January and February, the rainy season hindered much of the outdoor projects. Since it is crucial the projects get done, he has recruited some of the boys to help out. It is amazing how they have responded so positively to the work. You can tell they mostly love the time being spent with them. Ira has become a peer and they never get enough of wanting to feel important. Also, many of the boys aren't thrilled with the academic part of school, so Ira has turned this into a vocational project and incorporating needs for them to use math through measuring, weighing etc. Even when the work for the afternoon is completed, they just spend time hanging out with Ira waiting for him to do something else that they may be able to help with.
They have been working on both the pavers behind the kitchen and the septic. Ira decided last week he wanted to treat the boys to hamburgers so he took the names of all the ones that helped and had a list of 9 boys. As we gathered in the van, a few of the other boys asked where we were going and they told them for hamburgers and the reason why. Of course then a couple of the boys said they had helped, and maybe they had, but it had been half an hour here or there in the beginning but then they quit helping. But the boys going wanted everyone who had helped to be included, whether they worked the whole week or not. It reminded me of the Parable in Matthew 20 where the workers were paid equally whether they worked 1 hour or the whole day. However, in this case, it was the opposite. The kids taught us a lesson as the boys wanted anyone who had helped to receive the outing and burgers and before we knew it, we had 12 boys and Ira said we had to hurry and go or they would have us taking spectators too.
We usually go to a "hole in the wall" hamburger place but it was closed and we ended up going downtown to a Burger King. Well, just the excitement of them getting to have a coke with ice and free refills was enough to make the trip worth it. One of the older boys seemed a bit more concerned over the frequent visits the younger ones were making to the soda machine, but I assured him the refills were free. I think one boy told me he drank 4 and he left with his cup full of ice, something they never get at Pan de Vida. They all behaved so well and impressed us beyond measure with their thankfulness. Little do they know we were the blessed ones.
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