Blue Paint

   When I was walking to Smile Africa yesterday morning I was totally into my music. I was zoned out. When I was about a half a mile away from Smile I heard my name called out from a slum where a lot of the kids live.

"Paris!" Well actually they pronounce my name, "Pedis!"

   So I looked up to see a handful of children running to me. They were coming from everywhere. These children were laughing and running as fast as they could to get to me. I loved that feeling. I love children and knowing that they are excited to see me, and they were waiting for me, just made my day. I smiled at them and bent down to hug them all as they approached me. That is the best greeting in the world.

   Once I arrived at Smile I had work to do. I moved all the babies out of the babies room. I took the mattresses and supplies out of the room and into a temporary room. It was painting day! The babies room was a mess. There were bugs everywhere and it was dusty and the paint was chipping, so I decided it was time for new look. I sanded away all the uneven spots on the wall, which took forever, got all the spider webs off (EWW), and got the paint ready to go. Just at that moment Bogere walked in.

"Bogere, do you want to help me paint?"

   He got a big smile on his face and he nodded his head. I took off his t-shirt to avoid any unavoidable paint splatters from getting on his clothes. Once the paint was all set up, I handed him a paint brush and sent him to work. Bogere happily started us off with the painting. This boy was smiling and so happy that he could help. I feel like it was good for him too. Now he can say that he had apart in making his home better. Bogere has something to be proud of, something he accomplished.

   We went to work to make this room special, not just for the babies, but for everyone that stays at Smile. It took about 4 hours to accomplish completely. Bogere stayed for the whole thing, he was not going to miss a thing. It was a lot of work painting the whole room...2 coats! At the end of all the painting we put the new cupboard in the room...one that I designed. I'm not sure why people trust me with such things. I can barely draw a stick figure, let alone a nice piece of furniture! Nevertheless, I drew it and they built it. I have to say I was  actually surprised, but it turned out very nice. Those carpenters must have a great imagination! Haha.

   The room was finally finished and it looked so good. I was so proud of Bogere for working so hard on making the room special... a room that was not even for himself. He really turned this blue paint in to something magical. My sweet boy has really come a long way! Michael, the worker at Smile, even told me how well behaved Bogere has been. This was music to my ears. We have come a long way, together.

Before

After