Crayons for Kids

As part of our mission trip, coming up this winter, I have decided to do a new and used crayon drive. It was brought to my attention by Wayne, the HIS director, that most of the kids in Comayagua, Honduras do not have access to crayons, and they LOVE to color during VBS. He told me that some of the moms even stay with the littler kids and ask if they can color. During our 15-20 minute phone conversation to discuss VBS, he mentioned the word "crayons" about 20 times. The message was loud and clear, "Get crayons to these children, and they will be very happy!" He also shared with me that in the past, his church has replenished their Sunday school crayons, and he took the used ones to Honduras. They don't need brand new, sharp, shiny crayons. They are just as happy with the broken ones with torn wrappers. You know, the ones that we throw away? It was one of the saddest things I have ever heard. Our kids take for granted that when they want to color, there is a big container of crayons in the kitchen drawer. The kids in Honduras don't have that luxury. My goal is to be able to send every kid that goes through our VBS program home with (at least) one snack baggy full of crayons. That would be AWESOME! I feel good about this crayon drive because I'm not really soliciting anything that anyone would have to spend money on. I mean, if someone wants to go out and buy new crayons, that's their choice, and I'd be just as happy to take them to the kids. Really, though, what I'm soliciting are the cast-offs. The broken scraps of crayons that everybody has in some container, drawer, bag, or closet... the ones that are headed to the trash. I hope this will inspire people to clean out their junk drawers, dig out their old crayons, and pass them on to me. I will take them to children, who will be so grateful. Think about that.... something we consider trash is like gold to them.I asked Maya to help me decorate this box, and she was more than happy to do so, with crayons, of course. While we worked, I explained to her about the kids not having crayons, "...and wouldn't it be nice to give some of ours to them?" She happily took the crayons out of her own box and tossed them in the bag. What a generous girl! Tonight, while we were reading books before bed, I told her that we need to go through our books and choose some to take some to church for other kids, who don't have any books at all (for another drive to send books to West Virginia). She looked very sad for a moment, then her face lit up as she said, "Like the crayons, Mommy?" YES!! Just like the crayons. Already, she has a loving, giving spirit, and I couldn't be more proud of her. What an angel.

Like a Bull in a China Shop...

Tonight, Maya was intent on painting her fingernails, by herself, so I ripped some paper out of a magazine to place under the polish bottles and her hands and set her up at the kitchen table. I was so focused on what she was doing and making sure that she didn't spill her bottles, that I neglected to put the cap back on the polish REMOVER bottle I was using. Yep. You guessed it! While I was focusing all my attention on Maya, my little BULL came flying over the top of the table, knocking the polish remover bottle over in the process. NOOOO!!! I jumped up and ran across the kitchen to grab paper towels to mop up the mess. I could almost hear the chemicals eating away at the finish on the table. Sure enough, we now have a nice oval-ish shaped medium brown-whitish discoloration, about the diameter of a dinner plate, right in the middle of our espresso-colored table. There's also a smaller spot next to it, about the size and shape of Liam's palm... wonder how that got there? I was sooo annoyed - at myself, for being so careless. I never said a word to Liam about the accident because it was just that, an accident. We just moved the entire operation to the island, where I think the corian counter top is safe. (fingers crossed.)