randy

friends, randy.  randy, friends

{randy's dog...who is fine, by the way}



randy was one of our first friends in the village 6 years ago

he was 5

and full of energy and ornery

and we fell in love



but for most of our 6 week stay that summer, it was a "keep your distance" love

randy would climb up on steve for piggy backs (he was always leaving his boots or shoes somewhere)

but he would giggle and run fast if we tried to hold his hand, give him a hug...

more often than not that summer, randy was always by our side

and we gave him freedom and space to just.be.randy



in bush villages (like many small remote towns, probably), kids are often raised by relatives or friends of relatives...kind of an informal adoption process...people just helping people through the really tough stuff of life

(i love this about our friends...open hearts, open homes)



even though randy wouldn't let me shower him with kisses

i knew if we lived in his village full-time, i'd be the first in line to adopt him

{if his family would let me}



a funny thing happened at the end of our summer in the village all those years ago

amidst all that space and freedom

randy started climbing up on steve's lap

and he would reach for my hand when we walked

this year, randy let me kiss him 6 times in a row once before he squirmed away

we laughed because when he didn't run, i just kept kissing his cheeks!

randy is one of the neatest kids i've ever met

and you wanna know a secret?

in my heart...

he's mine!

i love randy

and i love God for introducing us