| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“DATE: MAY 9, 2020 MIMI JOINS OUR FAMILY Mimi Alberto, a 7‑year-old 1st grader, just lost her mother to AIDS. Mimi and her mother, Lurdes, were living in a borrowed house near our mission station. Our Staff visited her daily, talking to her about Jesus, and taking them food as well as other needed items. When Lurdes passed away last week, our Pastors laid her to rest in the village cemetery.  7‑year-old Mimi with Children’s Directors Jose and Anna. Mimi is still withdrawn and a bit in shock after all this, but we hope that the loving care she receives as a new family member of House #6 will help her recover rapidly. Our staff spent yesterday morning moving her in, and buying her new clothes at the market. The bundle you see in Pastor Jose’s hand (in the photograph above) contains all her worldly belongings. MIMI NEEDS A $30/MONTH SPONSOR. Please contact me if you would like to sponsor this precious little girl. ART CLASS A BIG HIT THIS WEEK! Hand tracing art is now the #1 fun thing for our children to do. A bit shy at first to make a mark on their papers, the kids were soon helping each other shape their hands into the needed form to draw ducks and giraffe faces. I used my smartphone to pull up internet photos of the animals they were to draw, as ducks they know, but a giraffe is just an animal in a book. Their interest and enthusiasm was eye-opening. We take so much for granted having zoos and wildlife parks to show us these magnificent wild animals. We now plan 2 art classes per week until school restarts, and I am not sure when that will be.  1st and 2nd graders making hand-traced ducks in our art class.  Primary schoolers showing off the hand-traced ducks made on Wednesday.  4th to 6th graders advance to hand-traced giraffes.  High school boys and girls concentrate on their art work.  High schoolers tracing giraffe heads from their hand positions. RUMMIKUB, THE FUN WAY TO INCREASE ABSTRACT THINKING Amazed doesn’t described my experience as I showed the dorm boys how to play Rummikub. They picked up on it quickly after understanding the objectives, but it was the YOUNGER BOYS (5th and 6th graders), who ended up helping the high school boys see the moves they could make. Our younger children grew up in our pre-school which has puzzles for them to play with. The abstract thinking they developed while doing this is now beginning to show.  Dorm students learning Rummikub. I also began teaching them more English words as they played. They happily left telling me goodbye in English. Nothing like “play therapy” to increase knowledge. Making math fun is my objective, as most of the boys are a bit weak in that subject. I am very grateful to all the visitors who came in past years, leaving several boxes of this game behind. THANK YOU ALL FOR CONTINUING TO SUPPORT OUR CHILDREN DURING THESE DIFFICULT TIMES. TOGETHER, WE ARE FORMING THE FUTURE LEADERS OF THIS COUNTRY. BLESSINGS, BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
