Aaron's First (English) Word!

Lots to write about and be thankful for today.

Yesterday, Aunt Julia told me about a toy dump truck she had purchased at the village market. Her hope had been that Aaron would take fondly to it, and today her wish came true. Her exact words were, "Oh my goodness, this child fell in love." Within seconds, he had figured out how to keep pressure on the truck with one foot and tilt the bed with the other. During their morning visit, he was constantly looking for sitting places from which he could best maneuver his special present.

It was raining in the afternoon, so much of their second visit was limited to the infirmary. Aaron was not eager to join them there, but he forgot his anxiety after being introduced to the Nalles' computer. He saw pictures of himself and of his new parents and brothers, and Julia said he was very quick to make the connection between camera and computer. There was a demo version of a Bob the Builder game on the computer, which Aaron loved. Again, he swiftly figured out the cause-and-effect relationship between clicking the button on the laptop and the corresponding in-game action. 

At one point during his time with the game, Aaron used a crane to put cargo into the bed of a truck. As the vehicle drove away, he said, "Truck!" His first word! Rob and Julia had been calling his new toy "truck" all that morning, and he picked it up just like that. Amazing!

Aaron continues to practice using his arms, though it is a struggle for him to do anything at all. He helped turn some more pages today (book reading has been a staple of these visits) and clicked the laptop button with his hand to make the computer game work. It began to hail after everyone had made it back inside. Julia ventured out to pick up a few of the frozen raindrops and showed them to Aaron, but he didn't like the cold feeling and instructed her to throw them back outside!

He has warmed up to Julia now, just as he had with Rob. They get two ninety minute visits with him every day: one in the morning, and one in the afternoon. Julia says, "He had GREAT focus this morning." Praise God. Nearly all of her comments were positive; he continues to fall and is still unaccustomed to the comfort he now receives each time it happens, but apart from that both visits went spectacularly well. The mornings are brutally hot and walking to and from the institute can be exhausting, but I imagine that is a small price to pay considering the rewards they reap upon their arrival.

A few details about the institute itself, now:

There are 35 kids in Aaron's group, all of them boys; their ages range from four to sixteen or eighteen. Julia has not seen any of the bedridden children yet. Some kids don't walk, but they're brought outside in wheelchairs. You see children with every kind of disability while you're there. Among them are two down syndrome boys who could be anywhere from four to six or even eight, but they appear to be just twelve or eighteen months old. Their caretaker brings them outside together, holding each of their hands. Julia's heart breaks for these two in particular.

Many of the children are curious about these strange new adults and approach them, wanting to talk or play with them, but they're called back by their caretakers. Just to be safe, though, Aaron sends them away if they get too close! His possessiveness is definitely humorous, but it's also a cause for celebration. There is a bond slowly forming between this boy and his future mom and dad. We pray that progress continues to be made in this area.

I have learned the name of the 80 year old woman with whom Rob, Julia and Elijah are staying. She is called Valla, and this afternoon she made borscht (a soup containing cabbage and red beets) for her guests. Julia said it didn't look very appetizing, but that it tasted fine. Elijah had a hard time swallowing the stuff, so Valla, thinking that perhaps it was too cold, whisked his plate away and put its contents on a skillet. Poor Elijah! Eventually, she offered him chicken and Rob ate Elijah's portion. Her grandson (who speaks a little English) joined them for a short time yesterday and brought along an English-to-Russian/Russian-to-English dictionary! YES! The Lord provides.

The meals that Valla has made for this family have been the only real sustenance they've found thus far. Julia hopes that when they next visit the open air market, they will be able to navigate their way to meat and fresh fruit. The locals are not always friendly, so it's likely that they'll be relying on their wits and what little Russian they have learned.

Your comments will appear with more frequency now that Traci is calling and reading them off to Julia (thanks, Traci!). I'll pop in every few hours and publish your thoughts to the blog so they can get to the Nalles ASAP.

Please remain in prayer for this family and the wonderful work they are doing.