Group after group!

The groups roll in and out of here and each one is unique.  

We have just received a new group and it is very small -- just 17.  If feels so manageable and so homey after the larger groups we have had through the summer.  Afterall, what is 17 children compared to 60!  And now.....with the new announcement -- the anticipation is that this place will be bursting at the seams......

 

But for right now, we will love what we have.

I did a quick assessment of these 17 and find that 50% of them come from broken homes, many of them very dysfunctional homes -- some that do not even know who their father is and some who have left angry parents because they have chosen to serve a mission.

 

41% are converts

41% are over the age of 19 (and 21) and it is not the same 41%.

 

and an inaccurate estimate of those who have gone through a period of inactivity and rough living would be about 80%

 

Although this is a small sample, it is indicative of what we generally see.

 

There are always a handful in every group who are dealing with belated confessions or experiences of the past that continue to haunt them. Between that and emotional meltdowns, Richard is busy most of every day just helping missionaries resolve issues  (and I might say, he is a master at it).

. 

Speaking of emotional meltdowns.

......I have raised 4 daughters so I know something of the emotional makeup of young women but put them the under this kind of pressure and in a place where they are making so many adjustments and emotions come to the surface.  Don't get me wrong......most of them LOVE each other and do so well, but there are times when the cat fights take over......and oh.....do they know how to fight.  We had two this week that we had to separate into separate rooms and let them cry it out before we could begin to reason with them..... (and sisters don't just cry, they scream!)

But....it happened  as they began to put emotion aside and take counsel and since then they cannot say enough good about each other! 

(When the sisters begin to outnumber the elders, they might need to issue boxing gloves.)

 

I am continually astounded at their circumstances.

For example:

A young man from Nigeria has waited 8 months for his passport and visa.  His father and grandfather are pentecostal pastors and are not one bit happy about him being here, but he has this remarkable faith and has hung in there against all odds.

Another young man has MS.  He takes medication and does well.  But he comes from a little branch of 20 people in Slovenia.  He met the missionaries on the street and immediately embraced the truth they were teaching.

These young people are amazing.  They are teaching a gospel they have barely learned.  But the spirit is powerful and their simple testimonies penetrate hearts. 

 

One of the challenges we always have is learning all their names.  So many of them are foreign and are very difficult to pronounce. We have just been reviewing the names of the next group.  Ask me how we will ever learn these names:

Ekenobaye

Hoxha

Kinikini

Nikitin

Toeta

Tsai

Pledade

Chaprontere

Maljanen

Maffumo

Nebesnii

Nkosi

Pjetri

Riekies

Watebohr

Albanese

and finally one we will master...

Brown-Cunningham

There were be 32 in all from 18 different countries.  Talk about diversity. 

This work is hastening.  Of that there is no doubt!  And it is exciting to be a part of it.