October 9, 2011
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The Cajueiro Claro family
I had two dead birds and a live grasshopper thrown at me. Twice. The joy of working with 8-14 year olds. Mostly boys. There was a dead bat in the sink. There are numerous bats in the ceiling at Cajueiro Claro, and I can hear them sniggering at me while I cook. They leave their “leftovers” everywhere, and randomly fly out over my head. I have no more sympathy for them when the kids catch them.
The way to a man’s heart is truly through his stomach, and this is especially true of little boys. Since beginning cooking for the kids, my ribs are sore from all the hugs I received this week, and they have started calling me “mom.” The analogy of the Living Stone’s project being a family continues as the kids called Flavio and I together for a meeting and told us we needed to get married. Flavio explained that this wasn’t happening, but they still have that cunning look in their eyes.
For all practical purposes, we do function much like a family, complete with me saying “You need to listen or I will go tell Flavio,” which normally works. I consider myself a stern person when I want to be, but these kids take it to a new level. I might be able to get kids in Indianapolis inner city to listen, but these kids still hold out. Flavio said I needed to toughen up. I am not sure if that will happen, or if I want it to happen. Yelling and punishment do not make me happy, but it is all they know. It will take a long time to retrain these things.
I know in my spiritual life a huge turning point was when my father decided that the whole family was going to get up in the morning and have devotions and breakfast together. After growing up in the church, this was the first time I really connected Christianity to life. To food. To daily devotions. Living Stones starts with us sitting in a circle, in the church or under a tree, and having devotions. Then Flavio gets out the guitar and we sing. Who knows what will happen after that. I have stopped trying to figure it out.
Oh, I always plan something, it just normally doesn’t work that way. Sometimes we get into a conversation started from the devotional. Or we talk about something that has been going on in the kid’s lives. Or we play Frisbee or soccer. Other times, we really do what I plan and talk about a character quality and color a picture or do a craft.
Sometime during, in, and through this time, Flavio or I am figuring out what to cook for lunch, cooking lunch, serving lunch, and then washing dishes. This week at church we had communion. I explained what it was to the children: remembering Jesus’s life and death, body and blood. How it was celebrating what connects us and makes us a family. How it was only for those who were a part of Jesus’ family and walking with him.
Two of the four children who made a public profession of faith last week decided to share in communion for the first time with the adults. This led to some giggles and whispers by the others, who are still watching to see how this Christian stuff works. What a beautiful process to watch.
