I have a few posts in the works

But I had food poisoning and been lying in bed all day feeling sorry for myself.

So instead of the epic posts I’m am writing, here are more pictures of the kids and a wee introduction. I’ll start with the littlest ones!  

Sabina, age 5 (maybe). Sabina is the spunkiest kid ever, and the naughtiest at the House. She frequently loses not only her her underwear but Suju’s as well (Lachhu said that Sabina thought she was being extra smart by throwing away the knickers she wets at school so that Lachhu won’t know.) She also tends to lose her school socks, slippers and lunchboxes. She has lost so many lunchboxes she isn’t allowed one anymore! She looks and acts like she is about 4 most of the time, but she can write and stand up for herself against the bigger girls. She loves being thrown, spun and swung around.

 

Suju, age 5. Suju is a sweet, very independent kid. She has a fairly good grasp of English, and cane french plait hair. She is far more developed than Sabina, and tough as old boots. Actually, all the kids are tough as can be, but I’ve never seen Suju cry. She likes playing on her own, and you can often find her with her dolls or playing imagination games somewhere. She is also very helpful. She wouldn’t come into my room the other day because she had her shoes on, and then when she saw I had an empty mug on my bedside table she picked it up and marched it to the kitchen to wash before I had time to catch her. She loves singing, and will often lead the others in singing Nepali songs to me.

  

Arati, age 6? Another sweetheart, Arati is a little lady. She has this serious little look on her face, or a big smile. She will tell me off if I do something that the kids aren’t allowed to do, but can’t speak any English other than yes or no, thank you and good morning. Pretty much like me in Nepali really! She gives lovely cuddles, and will sneak up when no one else is around. She has a terrible, and loud, singing voice which had me in hysterics at prayer time the other morning, but I just wanted to scoop her up and hug her. She often comes to perch on my knee and watch the others play.

  

Menuka, age 6. Menuka is a monkey. The older girls think she gets away with everything cos she’s so cute. She is very bossy, but is often crying after being told off. She used to knock on my door and come in and cuddle and fall asleep on my bed, but I think she got told off for that because she hasn’t lately. She never has enough clothes on. She is ALWAYS in trouble, I’m never sure why. She is a Lost Child, same as Suju, which means they don’t know where her family is and she came through an organisation that finds homes for children handed into police.

These four don’t go to church on Saturday with the others, but they still put their nice clothes on and go up to see Eli for ‘Sunday School’. Then they come and find me and go through my hair, looking for nits, making braids and ponytails and giving me the hardest head scratches if they find dandruff. They’re so darned cute.

I had an awesome video but it won’t upload, so you’ll just have to wait until I find speedy internet.