Monday afternoon

M'e Mahlapane arrived right on time and bustled us to MIS. Other children saw us and called for Palamang. He walked shyly around the corner. I recognized him immediately. I think he was scared to death. He looked scared to death. Poor boy - his whole world's been rocked.

Frank and Jessie brought the tubs of gift bags that the Christian Academy students donated to MIS, so we took those to the office for later distribution. (The Ministry of Hope kids got their bags and loved them - thanks CAL kids! so I'll try to post more pictures of that to send back to CAL).

I showed Palamang pictures on my iphone. That got a spark of a smile. He sat in the van and showed the pictures to all the kids outside the van. He was definitely showing off and claiming complete ownership of the iphone.

We came back to Mohokare and tried to get to know each other. We played a soccer naming game - saying everyone's name with each pass. He pointed to each of us but wouldn't talk. After soccer Palamang climbed on the bed to play cars with Trent - first smile we saw sans iphone! We had pasta and a peanut butter sandwich for dinner. Going out felt too overwhelming. He seemed to like my cooking :) so glad to have him on my side!

Bath time then teeth - he has all the basic self care down. He gives little nods when we ask a question or tell him to do something - not sure if he understands or not. We cuddled after bath time and sang, then he crawled under the covers and fell asleep. Too sweet, except it's only 6:45. Guess who's waking up at 5 am (or earlier) tomorrow?




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