new best friend

At the street program, the kids are all very different.  I love them all but I am closer with some than others.  With all of the kids I am close to, I can tell the event that brought us close.  Usually it is very obvious and I am just as aware of the change as they are.

For example, Ibra and I became close when his toe was really infected and I took him to the clinic several times.  John and I became close when I started treating his bite wound.  I became close with Gabriel when I kept encouraging him to stay in Kivulu and talking to him about why he shouldn't use drugs.

Many times, it is a trip to the clinic that brings me closer to the kids.  Typically the kids are very guarded and it takes time to earn their trust. When they are sick and I take the time to go with them to the clinic and get them the proper attention, they loosen up.  That was the case with several of the kids, most recently ronald.  I have been praying that God would bring him closer and it finally happened last week and it was through a nasty wound on his leg.  Funny enough, that is how I met Ronald.  I took him to the clinic for another wound on his leg.  On Friday, he was one of the first kids to say hi to me when I got to the church. I am praying that he stays around this time.

All of that being said, when I was gone in Rwanda, I spoke to an aunt and she told me a boy named Derrick was super unhappy with everyone.  He thought I had left for the US and no one had told him.  He informed the aunt that I was his best friend and I had better come back.

Derrick is rather new to our programs.  I don't really remember how he showed up or when.  He is an outgoing kid and speaks English well.  I had no idea until the aunt told me that he cared about me so much.  I am not really sure what happened to make him feel that way but I am happy he does.  Now that I am back, I am getting to know him better and I absolutely adore him.