Pastor

One of my favorite things about being back in Sierra Leone was my time spent with a little boy named Julius, whose nickname is Pastor. When he first came to COTN 3 years ago, he was severely malnourished and looked like he was 3 or 4 but we later discovered that he was much older. He is now an 11 year old boy, who has so much personality.

School is hard for Julius, but he wants to do a good job at school, he just needs some extra help. Over the holiday from school Julius and I would study together with his own special Kindergarten book that I had brought him. I had so much fun hanging out with this kid, as troublesome as he could be at times, he has such a funny personality. He somehow got it in his mind that our study time was at 2:00, so everyday, no matter what time it was he would come and ask me if it was two o'clock so that we could study. The days that I got home too late to study, he was not happy with me because he said,"I didn't want to study him."

It was fun to see Julius as he gained confidence in school and realize that he can learn. He learned about half of his ABC letters and some of the sounds that they make, and he was beginning to identify the beginning sounds of words, which means that he is well on his way to learning how to read. I am looking forward to going back and continuing to work with him; to give him that time to show him that he is valuable and loved and that he can learn.