Party Time!

Do you remember her?

Today, Nathan got to meet her.

It was carnival day for the kids at the home so it was the perfect time to pull Nathan out of school to put him in "life school" for a day.

On the 40 min ferry ride to Indonesia.

Our way of welcoming the kids as they came home from school.

It's a party day!!

His first meeting with the house mom, Ibu. She loved him.....gave him kisses

a couple of times while we were there.

These boys are all around 10 years old....just like Nathan. They were so sweet

in welcoming him and trying to communicate with him.

This sweet boy came up to me and was gesturing something to me and

saying "boy". I asked him if he wanted my boy....yes he did. He wanted

Nathan to come outside and play balloon badminton.

Then Nathan broke out some dance moves and his new friend was

quick to follow his lead!

But this is the boy that stole Nathan's heart. Nathan kept telling me

how cute he thought Niko was and that's not something I hear often

from Nathan who doesn't often pay attention to kids younger

than himself.

The kids decorated their loot bags.

Had a cupcake walk which they LOVED.

Lots and lots of games to play and they ran laughing and screaming

from one to the next.

Nathan and I were in charge of the fishing game. We made a fishing

rod (my one attempt at being crafty for 2011) and went

shopping for prizes. It was fun for the kids to throw that rod

over the curtain and pull back a sparkly headband or yoyo or toy

car. They came back over and over and we never ran out of treats!

Niko got a pack of bouncy balls and jumped up and down cheering

when he got them. It was fantastic.

The prize wizard behind the curtain. He was rarely alone as his buddy, Niko,

spent quite a bit of time back there with him.

I asked Nathan on the ferry ride home if it was what he expected. It wasn't, but he wasn't sure why not. He told me it made him a little sad but was glad that the kids were never lonely because there were so many of them there.

Then he told me he couldn't wait to go back.

Me too. It's hot and uncomfortable. There is a language barrier that makes it hard to talk to the kids. But there's just something that grabs hold of your heart while you're there.

I am trying very hard to learn as many of these kid's names as I can. It is important to call them by name. It is the one thing that is theirs alone....it's their identity and what sets them apart from all the other children there.

It just matters.

Each one of them is special. Each one of them is loved. Each one of them has a name.

"Fear not for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you BY NAME; you are Mine."

Isaiah 43:1