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Helping needy Malagasy kids to become Jesus’ kids! August 2009 Volume 12, Number 8 "A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food
with the poor."
Proverbs 22:9 |
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Homesick Lamb? |
Running an orphanage and seeing a lot of different children come and go
at Betikara from many different family situations over the years has enlightened
us to many Malagasy customs, and the ins and outs of Malagasy family situations.
We are aware that many times the children that come to Betikara are often times
homesick and do not settle in quickly to the new surroundings and routines that
come with living at Betikara. Often the children that come to Betikara arrive
shortly after the death of a close family member (mother or father). We try to
encourage the extended families of the children to come and visit from time to
time and to also worship together with us on
Sundays.
Because the
children are enrolled in school, we try to limit the time that the Lambs can
leave Betikara and visit their respective families. We allow the children to go
visit their extended families for weddings and funerals. We also allow all of
the Lambs to visit their extended families during the end of school year break.
For the most part, all of the Lambs get to go somewhere for a 15 day visit each
year. Most of the children are ecstatic that they can get away from Betikara for
a while and we are happy for them because it helps them have a better
disposition once they have returned to Betikara after their visits. So, it is
not uncommon for us to find that many of the Betikara Lambs are homesick for
their “families” and ready for a change of scenery from time to
time.
When
Angelo first came to Betikara he did not settle in quickly. Angelo was always
getting into fights with some of the other boys at Betikara and at the Betikara
school. There was one time that Angelo got into a fight and his glasses were
broken. It seemed that Angelo was going to be one of the Lambs that could not
find his place among the rest of the Betikara Children. Angelo was seldom happy
with life.
It was
when Angelo’s glasses were broken that I finally stepped in and tried to talk
with Angelo. Upon calling Angelo and having him stand in front of me, I saw a
very frightened and disturbed child. I started to talk to Angelo and tried to
let him know that I was wanting to help him. However, all Angelo could see was a
very tall “Vazaha” (white man) that was not happy with Angelo and his broken
glasses. I could not get Angelo to look me in the eye, and I could not get
Angelo to answer any of my questions. Angelo was trembling so much that it was
all that he could do to just stand there in front of me. I finally got some
answers out of Angelo in a very quiet voice. However, the answers were not
directed at me, rather, they were directed at Tiana, and then Tiana told me what
Angelo had replied.
I was
starting to find this whole situation laughable, but I did not want Angelo to
see that I was going to smile about what was happening. I told Angelo that if he
could not talk directly to me and answer my questions that he was going to have
to be punished. This allowed me a way out of the present situation (of wanting
to laugh) so that I could gain back my composure and not allow Angelo to see
that I was going to laugh at Angelo’s fear of the big white man. I told Angelo
to sit on the edge of his bed and think about what he had done by fighting and
causing his glasses to be broken. I also told Angelo that I would return after
two hours to continue talking with him.
Upon
returning I found that things were not any better. Instead of finding Angelo
sitting on the edge of his bed, Angelo was fast asleep on the bed. When Angelo
was finally awakened from his sleep I found that Angelo was still too frightened
to talk directly to me. So, I warned him concerning future fighting and told him
that he better not be in any more trouble of any kind in the future. Sometimes
this works, because of the children fearing the big white man, and sometimes it
doesn’t. :-) In Angelo’s case it seemed to be the turning point in Angelo’s life
and actually helped Angelo start settling into the Betikara daily routine.
Nowadays, it is not uncommon to see Angelo smiling, and he is always ready to
greet us when we arrive at Betikara. Long past are the reports of Angelo getting
into any fights or trouble.
So, we
should not have been surprised when Angelo was recently allowed to go and visit
his grandfather and other family members in the northern tip of the island of
Madagascar. Depending on weather conditions it can be a 72 hour journey in the
worst conditions. Right now, with the weather being dry it still took Angelo 24
hours to reach his grandfather. Needless to say, in the best of conditions it is
not an easy journey. Angelo was ready to go and visit family just like a lot of
the other children. We expected him to not come back to Betikara until after the
15 days that they are allowed to visit family. However, five days into Angelo’s
visit Tiana received a phone call from Angelo’s grandfather. It seems that
Angelo’s grandfather called Tiana because Angelo was
HOMESICK.
You
read the last sentence correctly. After a 24 hour long journey to arrive at the
northern tip of Madagascar, and after spending just five days with his extended
family, Angelo was homesick. Angelo was clamoring to his grandfather that he
wanted to return early to Betikara. Upon hearing from Tiana that Angelo wanted
to return early I realized just how much of an impression Betikara had finally
made on Angelo.
When I
told Stacy later that afternoon that Angelo was homesick she stated that it was
really touching that Angelo wanted to return early. Angelo now feels more at
ease and at home while at Betikara than he does with his grandfather and
extended family. What this possibly shows is that Betikara is heading in the
right direction, and even if we do not notice outward signs of acceptance from
some of the Lambs at Betikara that does not mean that they are not grateful for
the care that we try to provide for them on a daily basis. Please pray for
Angelo as he continues to grow at Betikara, and please continue to pray that all
of the Lambs can be touched emotionally just like Angelo.
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Indiana Church of Christ “He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for
what he has done.” |