[snapshots] of malawi.

one of the newest members of timothy’s home, mawu brings a unique and spunky character to the group. she is one of the most joyful people i have ever met and honestly i never would have thought such hurt and abandonment were a part of her life. in most scenarios she is the most easy going and seemingly unaffected by the pieces of her life that should hurt so much. but the first day i did play therapy with all of the kids she was literally scared. scared of the toys. it was such an incredible observation for me to see a child literally afraid of a baby doll. but i remember her seeing that doll, jumping and shreaking, and then slowly approaching it. she got right next to the doll and poked it realizing at that point it was only a toy. after that realization she slowly warmed up to the doll and in fact it became her favorite toy in the room, the first thing she grabbed and really one of the only things she played with. she wrapped the baby on her back, rocked it, fed it, and treated it like a real baby. as i sit here and process my time with mawu i can really tie her personality and life to her reaction with the baby doll. initially she is scared, easily startled, but the more she gets closer to the root of the problem and pokes it the more she realizes it isn’t so scary. the closer she got to sharing her past the more she realized it didn’t define her. if she treated it just right it may actually give her something to embrace. in our weeks together she started learning how to find the place she finds herself safe and how to embrace her past. she has faced hurt, but the joy on her face tells a different story. it shows the face of a strong girl who has poked her fears in the face and risen above it.

i pray for mawu everyday. that the joy i saw will always be a strong part of who she is. that she pokes her fears in the face and rises above them everyday. that she continues loving Jesus in big ways and taking risks and using her personality to share that love. that she will embrace the strong and beautiful woman she is already becoming. and that she feels loved everyday.