Some Thoughts and Some Fun!

Amahoro!! It was yet another great day! Today we packed up and went to Gitega to do some shopping! We left some of the kids behind with some dads who were willing to watch them and got some time to explore this interesting place! The stores here are so different then back home and it was fun to see how they work. The one thing that surprised me most was that one of the owners was willing to let her employee leave work to get on a motorcycle and show us the way to the orphanage we were going to see. It was very kind of her to do so and we really appreciated it!I also noticed that while we were shopping if our basket became full they would come up to you, take your basket to the register, empty it and then return it to you. The workers also put everything in a box after the cashier rang it all up and carried out to the van. We also had someone pump our gas and carry out our pop crates! In America there are few to no stores who would be willing to do that, once you're employed there you stay there. If someone needs help to get somewhere you either tell them to use mapquest, their GPS or you tell them directions they have to try and remember. If they need help with something, you help them, but only to a point. I wonder if businesses would be more connected with customers and be more loved if all of them were nice enough to lend their employees to help others? Just something to think about! Being here has really opened up my eyes to how selfish and time oriented us Americans are. I will admit that I can be that way a lot as well! The people here have no sense of time, they walk along the roads at whatever speed they please saying hello to everyone they pass by. They stop to talk to friends and/or family. Many workers help their customers in ways you've probably never experienced and owners take time to learn several languages so they can communicate with everyone who comes up to the register. Once again I can't help but wonder how much better businesses would be if we all took time to do that. After we shopped we made our way to a local childrens orphanage. It was great to have a tour, hand out bracelets and meet many of the wonderful children that were there! I made friends with an especially cute little boy named Benny who was about 4. He even let me take his picture which he giggled in delite at! Watching the volunteers definitely made me think about my dream to work at an orphanage in Haiti after graduation! I could definitely see myself in their place! On the way home I was able to have a very good conversation with Heather and Hannah and tell them about my incredible family! I explained how both my mom and dad have encouraged and supported me as well as fueled my passion for what I feel led to do! It was great to share stories and such. We also talked about adoption on the way home, it was a great conversation and gave me some insight on the part of a parent in an adoption. I'm still excited for the day that I can adopt, its always been something I've wanted to do and it was great to talk and ask questions about it! So as you can see today was pretty productive! Thank you Lord for surrounding me with these amazing people and giving me this awesome experience!