Friday, June 22, 2012

My boys (3 of 6): Robert

Robert stood third in line, he is SMART! He understood and could reply in English more than any of the other boys. Of all of my kids, I would assume Robert is the most "well off" he had on clean clothes each day and rotated between two pairs of shoes. Now understand that he may have been sharing clothes with siblings, but at least there were clothes to share!

On community day, I got to meet Roberts grandmother, she was a beautiful, kind, gracious woman. She thanked me for loving Robert! For LOVING Robert??? I was like, "THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING HIM TO BE AT CAMP FOR ME TO LOVE!!!" Part of our day in the community was helping clean up, my boys were sweeping her yard and picking up trash around the house. Robert was so sweet, he brought out some bread to share with his group. Now let me explain, food is hard to come by for these people, extra food to share, almost unheard of! So that he shared food was a HUGE deal and a tremendously generous gesture. His grandmother stood there watching so proud. This was another happy heart moment for me, maybe my heart exploded a little at that moment. I can't say it enough, these people, these beautiful Zambians are a happy, kind, and peaceful people.

So... One of Robert's blessings- hold on to your chairs folks- he had a fancy toilet! WHAT? A hole in the ground with a tire... I had to take a picture, I told the kids I was taking a picture of the ducks. Oh, the ducks, they provide eggs for the family (another blessing in Robert's life).

Robert is 9 years old (I believe that), his favorite subject is English. He lives with his mother, grandmother, older sister and two younger brothers.  His father died of TB in July of last year.

His grandmother is the only one who works, she sells clothes in the market or on the side of the street. This is probably why Robert had different clothes on each day. His mother does not work, unfortunatly I did not meet her when we were at the house.

What is Robert afraid of? Last year theives broke into his home and beat he and his family, and sometimes the older boys in the compound beat up his younger brother. 

Robert's family are members of the United Church of Zambia (I don't know much about this church) but Robert did tell me he was baptized the Sunday before camp started. He was a whiz with the evangicube and explaining the word of God to his community members.

What does he want me to pray for him?
Pray for his health, sometimes he has pains in his head, legs and stomach.
Pray for him to stop being insulted by the other boys in the compound
Pray that he will get to have a birthday party, he thinks his birthday is November 6!

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