One of my favorite stories in this series was about Amy Carmichael, an Irish/English missionary who spent most of her life serving Christ in India.  Part of her approach included adopting the dress and customs of the Indian people.

Amy left behind many letters, books, poems, and prayer journals, which have been a great testimony to generations of Christian women (including me).  As my children’s Sunday school lesson explains, there was one prayer that God never answered, at least not in the way Amy had wanted.

“When Amy Carmichael was a little girl, she asked God to change her brown eyes to blue because her mother had beautiful blue eyes.  She was heart-broken when God didn’t answer her prayer as she hoped.  Years later as a missionary in India, she darkened her skin with coffee and dressed as a native woman, so she could enter Indian temples and rescue the children enslaved there.

” ‘It is good that you have brown eyes,’ she was told by an Indian Christian. ‘If they were blue, you would be arrested at once, and your work here would be ended.’ ”

What a great testimony to nine-year-old children that God always gives us what is best for us– even in our appearance!

We are settling into Little Rock.  It seems a little easier since we moved so recently.  We know what to do, or more importantly, what not to do.  The kids were so isolated when we first moved to Memphis, so I started trying to get them into homeschool groups before we even moved this time around.  They are going to enrichment classes (art, music, creative writing, etc.) one day a week at a place called the Homeschool Academy.  They are also taking P.E. classes at Arkansas Baptist through a satellite group.  Elizabeth seems satisfied with the number of new friends she’s made, so I’m happy with the arrangement.

The only thing we haven’t been able to jump-start is finding a church.  Looking for a church is a long and tedious process– I’ll never enjoy being a visitor.  We’ve visited five churches in the West Little Rock area so far, and I think we have one more to try tomorrow.  We definitely have a “type.”  Lannie (in particular) prefers a modern worship style, and a well-organized children’s program is important to me.  I also like a great missions outreach (local and international).  At this point, one church is definitely our favorite.  The only problem? It’s not a Baptist church.  This is really only a problem for the daughter of a Baptist preacher (who now works for a Baptist seminary).

One thing that has really suprised me since we’ve moved here is how easy it has been to re-connect with old friends from high school and college.  Facebook makes it so effortless!  I’ve messaged with friends and set up get-togethers without even having a phone number.  I’ve actually been out to eat with three friends in just a couple of weeks.  That has done so much to keep me from feeling lonely.

I’ll try to do better about keeping up with my blog.  The kids have said some really funny things in the past month.  Hopefully, I can remember what they said!

Caleb is usually a pretty independent kid, so we were not too worried about him, but I guess he has become a little more dependent on us this year because of being home with me most of the time.

Caleb also is a bit of a “loner,” which means it can be difficult to fit in with the group when he is in a large group. He does well one-one-one with friends, but large groups are intimidating for him. This “loner” mentality meant he broke away from the pack to participate in a class that he liked during free time (the tech track, which taught him how to run sound and lights– his dad was so proud). He also spent a lot of time reading while the other boys in his cabin were busy planning pranks on the girls.

I should point out here that unbeknownst to me, this church group has a penchant for pulling pranks on each other (and the rest of the campers). If I had known that beforehand, there is no way I would have let him go to this camp with that group. My own youth group in high school was notorious for prank-pulling and general obnoxiousness at Siloam Springs before my dad laid down the law as their pastor, so I know a thing or two about being the uncomfortable odd-man-out in the middle of a fun-loving group.

Caleb spilled his guts about what all happened to him at camp before we pulled into the drive-way when we went to pick him up from the church on Thursday. His cabin mates filled his shoes with toothpaste (see above– he didn’t clean them out or wear them all week), spread mashed potatoes in his hair while he was sleeping, stole $20 from his bag, and called him “gay” when he wanted to take his tech class. One of the boys gave him a daily spanking for reading during free time.

I was appalled! Knowing, however, that 9 and 10-year-old boys will be boys, I was more appalled at the response of the male counselors in Caleb’s group. They told him “Prank pulling is just part of camp” and “Get over it.” That’s it. No tips on how to handle the other boys, no reprimand for the other boys, nothing.

Lannie and I cleaned out Caleb’s tennis shoes (between the two of us, it took about 2 hours and 2 washer/dryer cycles), and discussed whether or not to complain. We decided it wouldn’t really matter. This group has a deep-set mentality about pranks, and they’re not likely to change their minds by listening to us. Even though I think responsible adults should be protective of kids who don’t like to participate in this kind of thing, I can safely say that these aren’t responsible adults. We just decided to visit some other churches (we haven’t joined this one yet), and move on.

Lannie did mention that he thought my “mother hen” response was a little typical of a helicopter parent– you know, the kind that hovers over her children in case something bad happens. What do you think? Did I over-react? Would you have reacted the same way? What should I have done differently, and how can I give Caleb appropriate defense mechanisms so this doesn’t happen again?