Meet Sonia...

Though she may not look it, Sonia is 16 going on 17 next month. She is very small for her age, and I think she has an impish looking face. Apart from her hearing loss, Sonia, like Manuela, also has a developmental disability. She has even less communication abilities than Manuela. She doesn't really communicate via proper sign language, but by hand motions she tries to communicate what she wants. She points and flaps her hands around. Extended arms means she wants a hug. She points to her face when she wants a kiss. Sonia has no family and lives here at the centre year round.

During the mornings, when all the other girls are at school and Manuela is helping out in the kitchen, Sonia simply wanders around the property. In the afternoons she often sits by herself in her room puttering around with her collections of "treasures" and making the little humming type sounds peculiar to her.

The girls consider Sonia is not capable of doing much, and one of her few chores is to carry out the garbage to the garbage dump at the end of the property. She often likes to go through the garbage and dig out "treasures," and by now she has quite a collection! When I threw out my old lip gloss and my old pen, the next time I saw Sonia, she was carrying them around as her newly found "treasures."

Sonia sometimes gets into mischief. One day she found and got into an old mascara. We found her sitting in her room with her face smudged black all around her eyes. She seems to have a fascination for painting her face with markers and such, and I have had to help her scrub her face clean more than once.

Sadly, I think a lot of people would look at Sonia as human trash. Sometimes the girls complain she doesn't smell good, are annoyed with her, or simply ignore her presence in the dorm. And yet I have to constantly remind myself that in the eyes of God she is very precious! I often pray that God would help me to see Jesus in her and that He would put His love for her in my heart.

PRAISE (Blessings):
-Sonia's life.
-God's grace towards me.
-On Sunday I had a blessing in the disguise of an upset stomache, which kept me in bed all day. The rest did me so much good!

PRAYER REQUESTS:
-That God would help me see Jesus in Sonia.
-I have been asked to take someone's place and teach the Bible lesson this Thursday. Please pray that God would give me a lesson to share and help me communicate it effectively, and that the hearts of the children would be receptive.
-Please pray for Eleanor (one of the founding missionaries who continues to work at the centre as the accountant). She is having surgery on her hip this Saturday. Pray for a successful surgery and a quick recovery.
-Please continue to pray for the economy of the centre, things are really tight right now.
-I am afraid I have been losing my focus lately and forgetting why I am here. Different situations have been highlighting how self-centred I really am. I have been getting wrapped up in what I want, and as a result I have been struggling with boredom and with depression. Please pray that God would help me to remember why I am here and to find joy in laying down my life and desires and serving the girls.
-Please pray that God would help me love Manuela and Sonia with His love. I stand convicted that my love for them is practically non-existent. Lately, in my selfishness, I am annoyed by them, brush them aside, and even ignore them. I find ways to entertain the other girls, but I often leave Manuela and Sonia to their own resources, and I rarely give them of myself (which is what I think they most want) and just sit with them, "listen" to them, etc. God, forgive me for my selfishness and lack of genuine love!