Cadeau, cadeau, cadeau!

Remiss, remiss, remiss.

I have been slacking in my bloggage. I have even had internet and not used it to this advantage. BUT I have a sweet story to make up for it.

Have you ever made one of those "Operation Christmas Child" boxes? They're the shoeboxes that get filled with toys and goodies and go to needy children in the world.

...

Also known as the children in my village. Yes, that's right. A few weeks ago, World Vision (who does a kid's club on Wednesdays) brought the children boxes from Samaritan's Purse and the kids had a field day with their new toys/joys. What I enjoyed most was seeing them try to figure out some of the toys that they got. Having a tubaako (white person) in the village has been useful to them in this endeavor. Several different people over the next few days came to me with the question, "Aminata, what is this?"

I'm not sure my sister yet understands the full coolness of shrinky-dinks, but she got the bubbles immediately, once I explained, "No, it's not lipgloss... it's even better!" One woman came to me with a bath fizzer. I tried to explain it: "You put it in water that you'll bathe with (no bath-tubs here, remember, but bucket baths) and it will foam and smell nice." "Oh, yes, ok. I thought it was a ball." Many kids got playdough: "It's, ummmm, well, it's dirt! And you can make stuff out of it. Like a person. Or a snake. Or whatever you want. But when you're done put it back in the jar with the lid on tight or it will dry out. And if you mix colors, you can't get them back apart, so be careful, ok?" One kid in my compound got a harmonica. It is kind of nice to hear them play it every once in a while. And El Hadji is musically inclined, so it's good for him to have access to an instrument. I'm very excited about that one.

But the one I liked the best was this... three days after they arrived, a mother came to me with her five-year-old daughter, a photo, and a letter. A 14 year-old girl in Canada made a box and sent it with a letter and her school portrait. At first they had thought it was just note paper, but later opened it to realize it was written all over in a language they didn't understand and had a mystery picture attached. So they brought it to me and I sat down with them and translated into pulaar. Clara, the canadian, asked for a letter in return if they were able. "How can we send her a letter?" "She wrote her address here. If you write something for her, we can put it in an envelope and send it at the post office." "But who will send it to her?" "Come to me when you're ready to write the letter and I will help you write it, translate it into English for her, and then send it when I go to Velingara." A few days later they came back ready to write a greeting. I wrote a letter to Clara myself, translated the pulaar, and took a photo of Binta and her mom. I can't print it out here, but I gave Clara my email in hopes that she'll email me and I can send her the photo electronically. It was a very sweet letter from Siren and her daughter and I hope to hear back from Clara.

Thank you to all the people who fill out those boxes. It really means a lot to the kids (who, at least here, rarely get gifts especially for them). And my one suggestion to those who will do it this year: if you do one for older kids, don't do just school supplies. While they are very useful and definitely needed, remember that their little sibs are getting shrinky-dinks and bubbles. They like toys, too.