Tobias loves penguins! And i mean LOVE penguins!! So when i saw these and they were half their normal price, i just had to order them for him!!!
Aren't they just adorable?!
He has been walking them around the house for the past 2 days, since they arrived on Friday afternoon. There is a funny little story about their arrival.
i had ordered them last weekend and did not expect them for at least 2 weeks, if not longer. Tobias had the day off from school on Friday (teachers’ training day). So we went into town to do some shopping, had lunch and came home. He looked into the letterbox as he always does and remarked, “i thought my penguin suitcase would be inside.”
i laughed, “Don’t be silly. They can’t fit the suitcase into that tiny space. Besides, i don’t think they will come till next week.” So we walked into our building, shopping and letters in hand. Then i saw it. There was a brown box, fairly large, sitting on the other side of the inside door to our apartment block. My heart beat just a tiny bit faster.
“Go see who is that for.” i instructed him. He ran over and i was right behind him. Yes, it was for us! We looked at each other and gave a little yelp. He saw the words ‘Travel Buddies’ on the side of the box and i saw the words ‘Style: Penguin’.
“It’s here!” He hugged the box and carried it as quickly as his little legs could take him, up 2 flights of steps.
“Now it may not be the suitcase – ok?” i didn’t want him to be disappointed.
We got everything into the apartment and hung up our wind-breakers. He got the penknife and i opened the box.
There it was – all wrapped in it’s very own protective cloth case (yes, a case for a suitcase). Needless to say, at that moment, he was the happiest little boy in the whole wide world!
So if you spot the penguins (named Percy – the big suitcase, Perry – the small backpack) and us at some airport, come over and say HI. 😉
i have been praying for my little Heath and my lovely Heather for a little over 2 months and already my human person is weakening and growing weary and losing hope. i am still praying daily for them, for their daily needs, and most importantly, for their forever families to find them ASAP – like TODAY! However, this past week, my prayers have been tinted with a sort of resignation, you could even call it doubt or unbelief. i no longer pray: “Lord help their families find them today.”, with as much conviction anymore. But i know these kids deserve so much more, so much more than just prayers from afar. They deserve a mummy to hold them when they cry, a daddy to show them the wonders of the world, a family to be proud of who they are.
BUT… God is Good! All the time! And He is always there and knows our heart, knows my heart and He sends great encouragement!
i’m in BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) where we spend a whole year studying one book from the Bible. This year we are doing Acts (known also as Acts of the Apostles). In order to understand Acts better, we also cover the letters the apostles wrote.
The previous week’s study was on Ephesians, specifically Eph 6:10-24, which speaks about the armour of God. Our teaching leader gave a lecture on it and her last main point (called principles in BSF) was ‘Prayer is the Power for Victory’. Paul had ended his letter to the Ephesians with a request that they pray “on all occasions with all kinds of prayers” and also for him. Even the great Paul needed to be prayed for. And those prayers were not in vain, although most of the Ephesians would not have seen with their own eyes the results of their prayers. But they prayed on.
11 years old Heath, is a cutie who needs his family asap.
And so i should pray on too. Keep on praying for my precious ones – Heath and Heather, and all the other lovely children on Reece’s Rainbow.
10 year old Heather, is a healthy sweetie who needs a family asap.
James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
And one of the questions asks us to list specific groups that might be considered as “widows and orphans”. Of course, i listed Reece’s Rainbow’s kids. The follow-up question was, “Do you have a responsibility to any of these? If so, which ones and what might you do to ease their distress?”
God encouraged me yet again. i can pray for them, i can share their stories, i can advocate for them, i can donate, i can fundraise. i can even hope and pray for a mission trip to open up where i can actually go visit them and bring them more comfort in the forms of love and hugs and interaction.
It gets better still. God, then, affirmed that this is my faith in action as i went on to read James 2, where in verses 14-26, it speaks about faith in action, that our actions are the evidence of our faith in God. i pray and hope and have faith that God is moving mountains, melting hearts, enabling hands and feet to bring these orphans a family who will truly love them, value them and give them the life they deserve.
So i will continue to advocate, to pray, to fundraise, to share, to talk about these wonderful children till the cows come home, and still go on some more 🙂
Please do visit my little Heath’s and my lovely Heather’s profiles by click on their names or their pictures. Look, truly look at their amazing faces and see their need, see how much they need you. They can not speak for themselves from where they are currently. Will you speak for them? Pray for them? Will you consider adopting them? Will you donate to their adoption grant? (The larger the grant the higher the chances of them getting notice as this will reduce one of the many hurdles which adoptive parents face)
If you do any of the above, please leave a comment below so that i can send you a personal thank you.
Just one more thing before i go.
7 year old Beau, is a healthy and very independent little guy who needs a loving family.
This little boy, Beau, is the same age as my own Tobias. He has also touched my heart. i will also be advocating and praying for him from now on. He is a wonderful little boy who is intelligent and sociable and loving. He deserves so much more than life in an orphanage, which is where he has been since he was born. Click on his name or his photo to view his profile. Click here to view a video of him, which will sweep you off with what a delightful little guy he is. Once again, i ask you to please consider doing all you can to help him – adopt, advocate, donate, pray…
Spring Holidays just ended. As we try to get back into the school routine and prepare ourselves for what i call the marathon term (11 weeks), i wanted to show off another wonderful aspect of living here, in Switzerland.
Spring and Autumn Holidays are 2 weeks long and Summer Holidays are 5 weeks long. OK so not as long as some other countries but still long. So what are parents to do with their children? Are there camps to go to, like in the US? Yes there are, but they can be expensive. So how? Well, Ferienpass is your answer! Ferienpass = Holiday Passport (literal translation). They provide a whole range of programs your kids can join in and have fun while learning interesting things such as Where does our water come from?, have a movie afternoon, get some baking done, go behind the scenes at the hospital etc…
Here in the area we live, the family association, called “Konfetti“, run all sorts of programs throughout the year and you can join as a member for a small annual fee. BUT they not only run programs for their members, they also do programs for non-members. The Spring Ferienpass is one of them. You don’t have to be a member to join in the activities organised for the kids. However, all the programs in the Ferienpass is age allocated, meaning if you are only 7 years old, there is a limited number of activities for you to join. But there still is a fair number to choose from.
Kids assembled and waiting for instructions.
Tobias decided on a couple and we registered for them but only managed to get a place at the Firehouse visit. (Next time we’ll have to register earlier). He loved it!
It was in the early evening and lasted 2.5 hours, 6pm to 8.30pm. They were divided into 3 groups and were led by Youth Firefighters while the Senior Firefighters (or Fulltime Firefighters) got ready the 3 different stations they were to visit. It is just our local village firehouse so it is not very big and didn’t have one of those poles to slide down – sigh! But they did a few nice setups for the kids to try.
Getting shown how to work the generator. i sneaked this photo before i left him to enjoy himself.
Parents were not allowed to stay so this is the summary from Tobias. They got to put out little fires using water pistols. They got to see the fire-engine in action. They were also shown how to get power from a generator.
At the end of it all, they were all given a lovely little certificate which states (a rough translation):
The Certificate.
On this occasion, with the permission of the Fire Department, we present Yoong Tobias with a Certificate in Fire-fighting. You have gained basic knowledge in fire-fighting vehicle operation, in handling electricity on the street, and with bucket/pistol fire-fighting. We thank you and would like you to know that you are welcomed to join the Youth Fire Brigade when you are 12 years old.
They also served the kids drinks and hot dogs after all that hard work putting out fires ;).
When we said goodbye to the firefighters, this is what Tobias answered when asked if he would be joining the Youth Fire Brigade.
“I’m only 7.”
Firefighter: “Well, doesn’t matter, you can start planning.”
Hehheheee… that’s the Swiss for you.
syc
PS: The Summer Ferienpass is run by a much larger organisation and it is for the entire Kanton (state) and registering for that one is an insane affair of getting to the event hall as early as possible and pushing your way through the crowds to get to the right tables. We don’t do that one. Besides we are gone most of the summer anyhow. The Autumn Ferienpass does not run in our village but we can go down to the next town and join in theirs. We may try that this year. (Christmas and Winter/Sports Holidays are expected to be spent with family. So no need to talk about those here.)
trippingdifferently 