Meet Mershak. . .and a take a drive with me!

I wanted to tell you about one of the Freedom Center kids today. Mershak is such a shy boy, but he really is a wonderful boy, when he lets people get to know him.

Mershak is very good at soccer and is pretty sporty. He catches on to anything physical very quickly and loves to play sports.

Mershak is very shy, as I said before, and I think that is partly because of his slight stutter. It only happens every now and then, but I think he is a little self-conscious of it.

He really tries to stay out of trouble. He is the first one to make his bed, to get his laundry done, to do his chores. Most of the time, he prefers to do things by himself or quietly sit and play a game if football isn't an option in the hot afternoon sun.

Mershak loves to just sit next to me and hold my hand. I'm always welcomed by "Auuuuntie Auuuuutumn" in his quiet voice. Sometimes he likes to poke my skin like Ben does, but mostly he's satisfied with just sitting next to me. In fact, last week, he sat next to me for about an hour without even talking while I did planning in my classroom.

Mershak can be very sensitive. Sometimes, if he is nervous about getting in trouble, or doesn't get some "kind cash" (our money system at school), he gets a little upset. But he usually comes out of it pretty quickly.

He is just a sweet boy and I'm so blessed to know him. I'm learning that these kids are teaching me as much as I'm teaching them!

Here is a pic of Mershak:
http://www.facebook.com/autumnbuzz#!/photo.php?pid=5774693&id=552826775&ref=fbx_album

And one last little note. . .I DROVE to and from the Freedom Center today. After school, Caleb and Mark both got in the car and Caleb immediately said that he wanted me to speed so that we could beat Daddy in the van with the rest of the crew. Well, I did my best, but Daddy beat me just at the last minute and he cut in front of me from the back roads. In any case, it wasn't too bad driving through Community 5 and 3. I don't know about ever going to Accra, but I am enjoying my drives from school! We agreed to have me drive each morning since we all are having a hard time getting to the Freedom Center by the time school starts. Here we go!!