Sharp and Soft

I've been learning some tough lessons with regards to my service to my favorite mission spot. First, if you carry valuables in your luggage they will likely get stolen. If you mail packages from the US to there, the shipping will likely cost more than the package itself. Whatever you claim on the contents of the package will be taxed to the recipient, and therefore inflating the values to cover the expense of losses that could not be replaced....is not a good idea.

Pain, pain and more pain.

Money, money and more money.

But now I know. When you know better, you do better.

The sad truth is the losses that have incurred (from a value perspective) since last month, could have bought me another plane ticket. Ouch. I'm just going to consider it sharpening. The Holy Spirit is showing me I need to know more to be able to do more. I can't be naieve and succeed with good intentions. I have to be sharp.

Funny irony here to me is that when I was with Fatima last month and we were discussing the first blunder, in that I managed to allow the first new laptop to get stolen, and she managed somehow to fail to warn me it would likely happen if I did it they way I did it.... she looked me in the eyes and said, "you are going to become an expert in our international relations". Little did I know I would fail so many times so quickly. I'm sure I'm not an expert yet.....but I'm WAY sharper than I was one month ago. Way sharper.

In other news..... one of the precious, lovely, outstanding, dynamic, delicious boys from the orphanage called me yesterday. We spoke for 4 minutes. We wanted to talk all day. When I hear his voice, and when I get the opportunity to tell him how much I love him.....it's hard to hang up. I want to be his momma. In my heart he is my child. I want to hear about his school day. I want to take him to football practice, take him to the doctor when he is sick, watch him open Christmas presents in front of our tree, teach him to drive.............UUGGGGHHHH!

Feeling soft again.

And holy moly go read this!