Group Post

I am sitting on the couch with Bryan on one side and Terp (Christina) on the other side and I decided that we should write a group post. Our topic is....... One of our favorite memories of our time together here at Beautiful Gate so far!

First will be Bryan, "After a really wonderful Christmas party the staff went outside to take a group photo while they were all wearing their orange Beautiful Gate shirts. A couple of the guys surprised me by lifting me up on their shoulders. It was cool! It felt good to feel appreciated by the staff. The team here at Beautiful Gate helped me understand what it is like for coaches after winning the big football game."

Second will be Terp, 'This afternoon, I spent some quality time in town away from the daily tasks at BG.  When returning on campus, honestly I was only thinking about one thing...relaxing tonight.  My heart was overwhelmed with love, as a group of children came running up to me yelling my name.  Their faces beamed with love.  It was like they had not seen me in a very long time, but it had only been 2 hours.  Every child wanted me to pick them up and swing them around.  When I picked up one of the boys and he immediately snuggled in tight and gave me a big kiss on my cheek.  Then in his beautiful voice, he started singing.  He is known as the "singer" on campus and he always sings for me, but the kiss surprised me.  Everyday the children here teach me about love.  They teach me about trust and they teach me about acceptance.  Every time we have an opportunity to "see" our Heavenly Father, we need to drop what we are doing and run into His arms.  In that moment, we have the freedom to feel His love as well as express our love back to Him.  Each day the precious children at BG teach me that our Abba Daddy doesn't care about how much work we do, or tasks we complete, or the presentations we plan, all He desires from us are moments when we drop what we are doing, run into His arms, take in His love and love Him back with singing."

Lastly Me, "Thinking of this question made me reflect on so many really good memories. Honestly, so many days are filled with happiness, smiles and love and I am glad we picked this topic as it is a good reminder after some really tough months. One of my favorite memories was our last time with God's kids day (first Wednesday of each month). It happened to correlate with our crazy dress up day where we (volunteers, staff and even some of the BG kids) all dressed in crazy clothes and made our hair look funny. At 3pm we all met in the grassy area in front of the baby houses and just played. The staff, the kids, the volunteers, the team from California that was visiting, everyone. We played with a parachute, soccer balls, and rugby balls. We played tag and chased each other till we were worn out. We held babies and tickled kids and listened and watched while the house mothers sang and danced. It was relaxed, free and fun. We were all like little children, taking a break from all the big things going on in our lives and honestly becoming as little children. I love how everyone gets really involved, even my own 3 kids and just comes together in fun and delight. It is such a great time for us to love on the BG kids as well as the staff having fun and playing together. It is what I picture heaven to be like when we get there. Innocent, delight and deep heartfelt laughter!