Sraigiukai… when literally translated, this means “when snails”, “while snails”, or “as snails”. In this case though, it serves to say “Little Snails.” This is the name of my class at the Baby House orphanage. I had the privilege of meeting them yesterday afternoon and will be officially working with them starting tomorrow. The Baby House is an orphanage for children from infants to six years of age. They are divided into groups by age. Sraigiukai is group 2, the one to three year old. Though I was hoping to work with infants, it only took one look for me to fall in love with my Little Snails. When I was arranging my volunteer hours with one of the administrators at the Baby House, we discovered that my class schedule does not correlate with the napping/waking schedule of the infant group. Though I could have worked with infants on weekends and group 2 on weekdays, they prefer each volunteer only work with one group of children. The kids have very few people to whom they can form attachments, so they need consistency. So, I agreed to work with group 2 for three hours three days a week, but I was feeling a little bit disappointed inside. I have learned in some of my classes how critical it is for infants to have loving interactions and attachments in order to develop and survive into toddlerhood. I was sure that this was where I needed to be, so I could help them grow. Then I walked into the group 2 room…. And God showed me that He knew where I was needed. I took one step through the door and a little red-haired boy, about 12-18 months old, rose to his feet, lifted his hands, and wobbled back and forth in excitement, his face bearing an open-mouthed grin. He was more than willing to receive any love I could offer. Needless to say, I am beyond excited to spend a few hours with this little guy and the others tomorrow evening!
I don’t have much more than this to write about tonight. I mean, there are a few other things, but they seem so minute in comparison to the beginning of volunteering at the orphanage. One thing that I would like to mention is a request: I would like to ask for prayers that I would continue to keep my eyes open for each opportunity God places in my path every day. As I add nine hours of work at the orphanage to my schedule, I am a bit concerned that the busy and stressed instincts will return. So, I ask that you all would join me in praying that God will help me remain at peace, making the most of every moment and using time wisely. Thank you for keeping up with me and the work that God is doing in my life and those around me over here in Lithuania! May each of you reading this have a blessed week! And, I leave you with another Lithuanian word to add to your vocabulary: Į sveikata! (“God bless you!” … literally translated it means “to your health”, and it is usually said when someone sneezes. But it works for my purpose, too.)
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AuthorHi, I'm Katie... just a girl, living this adventure for the glory of God. Thanks for reading! Archives
December 2020
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