Life Flies

Well, I am so sorry, but it’s been an entire week since I’ve said anything! And all I talked about was a movie. Whoops.

We finished the holiday program last week and it was amazing! Get this:
70 kids.

SEVENTY KIDS ACCEPTED JESUS.

OHMYFLIPPINGOSH.

And all of my kids in my Jolly Jesters group asked Jesus into their hearts. It was so sweet, seeing them all say “I want Jesus! I want Him to be my best friend and I want to live with and for Him!” Watching them say the sinner’s prayer and realize that Jesus loves them was so beautiful – I’m never gonna forget it. I am also never gonna forget a child’s capacity to love and forgive. Children blow me away – they understand so much more than we give them credit for!

It was so funny, on Friday, all my little girls sat around me during snacktime and ask me, “Princess Hannah, are you really a princess in real life?” they were all convinced that I lived in a castle somewhere far away and came out to play with them. I love my life. I replied “Yes, of course I am a real princess!” and they were so happy! But then I said, “But guess what?”

 “What?!”

 “You are all REAL princesses too!”

“Really?”

“Well, if God is our father, and He is a king, what does that make all of His little girls?”

“Princesses!”

And they all proceeded to gasp and twirl around and stare in wonder and amazement at themselves. I wish I could tell every little girl that.

It was bittersweet, saying goodbye to all my knights and ladies. We had a “knighting ceremony” where we knighted all our kids and gave them the armor they had made over the course of the week. It was so cute! They all kneeled and looked so somber and serious as I tapped their shoulders with cardboard swords. They bowed their heads and accepted their swords with the utmost humility and nobility and I couldn’t help but grin every time.

 

One thing that you might’ve missed since I haven’t said anything in a while is that one of my team leaders, Aleisha, was hospitalized. She got some bug bites in Fiji that she scratched and they became infected while we were still there. The infection continued to get worse in the last month and last week, she finally broke down and told us, her entire leg swollen and a high fever causing her pain to hit the top of the scale. She was taken to Kaitaia hospital, pumped with antibiotics, but when they didn’t work, she was rushed to Whangeri for further treatment. At that point, there was a lot going on in her body, the doctor talking about blood poisoning, bone infection, lung and heart infection. I’m not gonna lie, I got scared; it was so serious at that point. Leish had people all over the world praying for her – her parents flew in – the worst part was that the infection is a tropical strain, one not known here, so the question was how to treat it. But, Leish, being the stubborn Kiwi she is, started getting better – proof that prayer works. She was discharged (I imagine she threatened to run away if they didn’t J ) with a lung infection and a swollen leg, high as a kite on pain meds and antibiotics. She’s staying with our host family and resting and recovering until we go back to Matamata.

Speaking of Hobbiton – we’re going back in a week.

ONE WEEK.

That’s all that’s left of outreach.

Woah.

One week of outreach, one week of re-entry lectures and graduation, 2 weeks in Wellington with Hannah, and then I’m going home.

Life flies.