Just as we feared, the boys are treated like monkeys in a cage. Zion doesn't mind, due to his age, but Bright has been miserable on account of it. People lean down to peer at him in the stroller and poke at him, and even when he says "NO" in their language they just think it's cute and they keep coming back for more. It is not uncommon for people to take out their phones and snap photos of the kids. We even had a taxi driver get out of his car to photograph the little white boys who rode in his cab.So this morning, before we went to the I.F. (the "building" we attend on Sundays that requires a foreign passport for entry), we sat on the couch and cried out to Him for help. I wanted to try this and try that, but my sweet husband gently pulled me back to wisdom's side. "We can try a million different things," he said, "but nothing will work apart from His grace. If He'll give us just an ounce of his grace, the problem will be solved. We need to ask Him for it." So we did.
And then just a few hours later, after building, on our way to lunch, it occurred to me to let Bright walk beside the stroller. We had been purposely tucking him away in the back seat of the double stroller to "hide him" from all of the unwanted attention. But it wasn't helping. 'Maybe,' I thought, 'If he is walking on his own two feet, he won't be such a sitting duck.'
Amazingly, he hardly drew a single glance as he walked by my side. IT WAS THE STROLLER! The double stroller, in a land of one-child families, was what attracted every one's attention. Everyone just HAD to see what was under those double canopies.
Grace.
And so we celebrated with our friends, Josh and Danielle, over fried buns with sweet dipping sauce. Our next purchase will be a single stroller for Zion...and Bright, putting one foot in front of the other, will learn to face his new world. Praise the One who does not leave us alone to fight our battles.
