Despite having moved to Singapore for a few months now, I still feel very much remembered and loved by the church. Sometimes I think they miss me more than I do them!
But the ones I truly miss... are the kids! I feel more heavily the regret of not being able to watch them grow up, and knowing that by now the toddlers would have forgotten that they once smiled readily at me when I see them during the weekends.
Pastor Paul and Claire L's baby Noah opening his birthday present from me. This was during my farewell party and after I spent an hour crying. No one could coax me out of my tearful state until Claire sent Noah to say hi to me.
I've been attending a small, nameless church in Singapore and I am so glad that there are children within the church! When I first met JT and her four kids, it was a challenge to get them to warm up to me because of the family history and the kind of temperament the family has.
But after a few weeks of regularly meeting this family and praying over them, the ice is beginning to thaw at an accelerated pace. The most clingy toddler is now willing to allow other adults other than his mother to hold him. And today he willingly climbed up my lap to play with me.
The 9 year old ADHD child has been hungrily seeking more and more affirmation from the church and it is nice to see the edge of her rebellious streak softening just ever so slightly.
The independent and aloof 1 year old baby girl who only allowed the maid to take care of her has surprisingly been quite clingy to me today - very quick to extend her arms to me to carry her. She even hit the pastor and gave him a glare when he was talking to me and keeping my attention away from her.
Today, despite having 4 adults taking care of 3 kids while their mother had some time off to have Bible study, some of us were feeling exhausted by the time we called it a day. The best part about kids is undoubtedly the part when you can nudge them towards their parents and say, "Time to go home!!! Bye!!!"
Labels: Church tales, Friends