It is hard to move to Kingston and leave this group of children. We teach reading to Marcus - he is 15 years old and will go to a night school in the fall. He has progressed from not reading to reading about 2nd-3rd grade level books - in 6 months! He is very bright and wants to learn all he can. He reads to the other children in his neighborhood - mostly cousins and other relatives. Brenda is the little crippled and mentally challenged doll - she has the happiest smile and personality - she gives me hugs and there are little fingerprints on my white blouses - and I love it! Most of these children we have given books to over the months - here they are playing on an ancestors grave - usually there is a goat on top of it!! I wish I could bring them all home - or at least guarantee they could all get a good education...sigh. the shacks in the background are where they all live...kind of a little family neighborhood. Brother Gayle is Elder Smith's 2nd C and his reading has improved also - he read the Sacrament Prayer for the first time last week. He is about 50, we have met two of his younger brothers - in their 40's and neither of them can read any ..but they are great farmers! Take a big truck of produce to Brownstown to sell each weekend, and support themselves. Jamaicans are remarkable at making something out of nothing!!!
I'm so sad for you guys that you have to leave Junction and all the people there. I'm sure Kingston will be great and you will meet more people though. Isaac said in a prayer the other day to "bless Grandpa to not get mad" because he would be driving in Kingston. He came up with it all by himself.
ReplyDeleteI cried when I read this. Brenda is a doll. I wish I could help give them all an education too. I hated transfers!! I know you will do great things in Kingston and I know that the Lord will bless the people of Junction too. It is still hard.
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