Yonatani and Sam are here! Oh, and some challenging days have come.

Yonatani (Jonathan) and Sam arrived on Friday, and it has been so good to have them with us. We have done a lot with them so far and I think they are a bit worn out, to say the least. They delivered lots of treats from our families and we are so thankful for everyone for sending their blessings and hugs our way. Yonatani and I have a full schedule when he is here, with lots of Global Capacity planning and some meetings.

The past few days have been extremely difficult also. Heartbreaking. Siliac, an eight year-old boy who lives at Umuryango, has chosen to go back to live on the streets. Siliac is the newest boy at the home, having moved in just two months ago. He is an amazing boy, adorable, sweet, and very influential. Everybody loves him. However, streetboys are extremely complicated and although moving to Umuryango seems like an amazing opportunity, some times the boys don't understand the long-term benefits. On the streets they come and go as they please and don't have any responsibility. They don't have any superior to listen to, no chores to complete, no work to do. At Umuryango they are given a daily schedule to follow, superiors to obey, and chores to do. Plainly, they are given structure. It is so hard to understand how a young boy would choose a life on the streets after they he has been given a warm bed, food, school, new clothes, and lots and lots of love. But, as any mother can attest to, boys are complicated beings and this is certainly true for streetboys too.

It was especially difficult last night because we saw Siliac on the street. Yonatani and I were walking to a restaurant and Siliac was there, with one of his friends. It broke my heart to see him, knowing that just two short days before, I was holding him at Umuryango. He asked him how he was doing and he said "well". I hope to believe that he is. And I also hope to believe that God will change his heart in such a way that he will want to return to Umuryango one day. In the mean time, I will also pray that God protects him and that he continues to understand that God has an enormous and unimaginable amount of love for him. Something he has never gotten at home but something we have tried to give him.