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Oh my have the last 36 hours been hard..sigh…

Yesterday afternoon, Elysee just started to really not like us.  I don’t know any other way to explain it.  She would not come to Adam or I.  She would hug and laugh with others but not us….I cannot even explain the feeling in my heart when she cried when I tried to pick her up.  My heart truly hurt.

At one point, she was screaming and crying in our room, screaming the same thing over and over and I just prayed for her and asked God to help.  I finally realized what she was screaming sounded a lot like a little boy’s name that was staying in another room with his parents from our Agency so I took her over and sure enough…all he did was touch her face and say her name and she instantly calmed down.  This was the first time I really thought through that these kids are her family.  Lord, thank you that she has friends she loves. 

We have made wonderful friends on this trip and I am so thankful for them.  I was swinging Elysee outside while she was screaming and I was trying to calm her…unsuccessfully and one of the mom’s came out and said, “Remember, God sets the lonely in families and he is here.”  Lord, thank you for our new friends. 

There are four other families here from our Agency, each with two kids.  We all ate together last night and when it was time for us to give the baby and bottle and Elysee a bath, we headed back to our room and Elysee immediately began to cry.  We gave her a bath for the first time (well really a shower)and she screamed all the way through it.  Then I lotioned her and put her jammies on and she continued to scream.  Then I sat on her bed, holding her in my arms while she screamed for over an hour.  I started to think I couldn’t do this, that I wasn’t strong enough but I knew that was not from God so I began to repeat scripture over and over.  I kept telling myself that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  I prayed and prayed…at first for God to pour out his comfort and peace on her soul and calm her.  Then a little later, just that he would make her fall asleepJ   Then, I began to sob because I truly felt like God was letting me see a glimpse of what it is like for her.  She was so alone and scared.  Lord, thank you for allowing me to truly see her pain.

Today, we got up and she would not eat.  I took her outside and we met up in a room with some of her friends and she finally began to smile and eat.  A little later we went to the pool and I tried and tried to get her to play with me, smile at me, really anything but she wouldn’t.  Then I tried to hand her a cup and for whatever reason, she threw herself on the ground and began to scream.  I had no idea what to do but then a lady walked over that had come from Elysee’s foster home and she picked her up and talked to her for a few seconds in Lingala then put her in my lap and she was fine.  It was the first time all day she had let me touch her J  Lord, thank you for Mama Linda being there.

One of the other mom’s did talk Elysee into getting in the pool and we had a really great time!  She let me hold her a little and then she let Adam play with her…I was so excited!  Then we ate lunch with some of her friends and when it was time for nap we headed to our room and she began to cry again.  She started yelling the little boy’s name over and over again so we went and got him and he came into our room, looked at her and said, “Elysee!  Lala!”  (sleep!) and she immediately calmed down and got in bed J  Lord, thank you for a friend to calm her.

Tonight we went swimming again and then headed back to the room to take a bath and she started screaming again.  I immediately turned on the praise music and Adam started bathing her.  She continued to scream.  We got her lotioned up and put her jammies on and she continued to scream.  Adam took her over to see the little boy next door and she calmed down until Adam brought her back to the room.   I was bathing the baby and getting her ready for bed so Adam sat down on her bed and held her and told her he loved her over and over in Lingala.  She cried and cried so Adam and I decided I should go and see if Debra from our Agency was here, we thought maybe she could calm her but she was not in her room so I headed back and I could hear her screaming from outside.  I walked in and she started screaming, “Mama! Mama! Mama!” and I looked at her and put my arms out and she reached for me J  I held her in my arms and she immediately stopped!  I cannot explain the joy I felt in my heart...I told her I loved her over and over in Lingala until she fell asleep on me and then I laid her in bed.  Lord, thank you for this little step…

Thanks for praying for us…we know God is doing great things here and we are so thankful he has answered our prayers to be His hands and feet here this week.