joshua turns four.

Yesterday was Joshua’s birthday, and his party was in the park.  We had a wonderful time celebrating the new four-year-old and hanging out with some of our favorite people.

A beautiful day for a party

Birthday boy!

Michelle and Hadi are best buddies

Judah gets a climbing lesson from John-uncle

Go Judah go!

Worn out from partying

We love each other!

Could these two be any cuter??

Alison gives out Cars 2 tattoos

“Will you take a picture of my tattoos?”

All of us are becoming fast friends with our language teacher, Neetu.  She came with her husband and sons.

“Watch me jump, Julie-aunty!”

Friends from church

Three sweet girls

Elsie and Ams

John shared with Joshua and all of us some of the ways he has seen Joshua grow and seen the Lord work in his heart this year

Pizza time!

Hostess with the mostest

Happy birthday, Joshua!

Yum!

These days I enjoy my gluten vicariously through my fam

“Look Mommy!”  To top it all off, Jonathan-uncle treated the kids to popsicles!

I just want to squeeze these two

Sweet Neetu, next to whom I am a giant!

Timothy enjoying his ice cream

Ice cream wallah

From the photos, it looks like an idyllic party, but what you can’t see are the street children and transvestites heckling us, stealing food, asking for our leftovers, asking for money.  Our hearts were alternately angry and heavy, wanting to be left alone but also wanting to share what we had.

As I’ve written before, you can never, ever escape neediness here.  It is exhausting, but I’m realizing that the shock isn’t poverty and neediness; it is how much I was insulated from it in the U.S.  It’s the reality of our world, and while my first reaction is usually disgust, I am reminded in reading the Gospels that these outcasts were the exact type of people Jesus moved toward.  He still moves toward them.  Who am I to push them away?

Question: how many people can you fit in an SUV?

Answer: 18!