Fatu Charles

We brought a small girl from Banta back to Freetown with us. Her name is Fatu and she is 6 or 7 years old. She doesn't speak any English, only Mende, so we communicate through a lot of grunts and hand gestures. It actually has been quite fun and Fatu has turned it into a game. She thinks that it is hilarious that we don't understand her. A while back she got burned by a kerosene lantern and the burn was not properly taken care of. The scar tissue grew so that her arm is now attached to her body. There is an Italian run hospital that does operations for free, so we will be taking her there. She has been living in our house with us and she is just about the funniest child I know. It has been so neat to see her personality come out. We started calling her Miss. Silly Pants because she does the goofiest things. Often times children are not allowed to be children, causing them to miss out on crucial stages of development. They don't progress through all of Piaget's stages of development as most children do. It has been so interesting watching her, because now that we have given her a chance to be a child, in some ways she has gone back to the stage that a 2 or 3 year old would be in.
This is her first time out of the village. Everything is so exciting to watch or do to. She has a childlike wonder that is helping me see the world through a new pair of eyes. When we got on the bus to take us back to Freetown she was so scared. She was holding onto me for dear life and wouldn't let go. Every bump scared her. Finally she got more used to it and was eventually standing up wanting to watch everything *yes I let a child stand up in a moving vehicle. It is a normal and "safe" practice here*
When she had her first taste of a soft drink the carbonation surprised her and she jumped a little bit. She has developed quite a sweet tooth (I think she got that from Kristen and I).
Teaching her how to use a toilet for the first time was funny as well. At first she was scared to sit on the toilet. I finally convinced her to sit down. We then flushed the toilet and she jumped back in fear. Then for a long time, she just sat and looked at it, wondering what had happened.
We took her to the ocean, which at first she was scared of, but soon she was screaming when we took her out of the water. She only wanted to be in the water though if she had her legs and arms tightly wrapped around Kristen or I. When we were in the water she was screaming with joy. Even though she looks sad in the pictures she really did have a good time. She also thinks it is funny to smile after we take the pictures. I wish you could see her smile. It is beautiful.
Although it is tiring taking care of her, it is such a blessing as well. She has such a childlike innocence and trust. She is a bit attention starved, so she wants to be around us at every moments and we feel like we have a little shawdow.
Pray for her. Pray for her surgery and that we are able to show her love that will reflect the love that Christ has for her.