February--the month of true love--blah, blah blah

Valentines Day is a special time for those in loving relationships to buy cheap chocolate, a cheezy card from Wal-Mart, and overpriced roses for that special someone. Or you could go the other route and spend $350 on dinner at a fancy-shmancy restaurante to let them know how you really feel about them. If option A mostly resembled February 14 for you, well then, there's always next year.

Take my predicament into consideration. I live in Nepal, have no spouse or significant other (no, this is not an self promoting ad calling all single women), and I am surrounded by 22 girls in ages ranging from 7-20, most of whom are in the "I have a junior high crush on older guys" stage. So, you might be asking what ideas we concocted in order to let our 22 "special someones" know that we care about them as sisters in Christ.

Jordan and I could not let the American holiday pass without doing something nice for the girls. Plus, they had never celebrated before and we saw it as an opportunity to encourage them in their faith. So, on a bitterly cold, rainy day we made the trip to town to select all the "special ingrediants" that would make for a fun night with the girls.

It was actually a really neat time. When it comes to intentionality in the orphanage, the guys are the ones who get most of the time and attention from us. I mean, it is just hard to relate with the girls, as one can imagine, being a guy, and it can be just weird. But, we have remained open to encouraging them when we can as well and have made the most of the opportunities that we get.

Valentines Day was great! We bought a rose for each girl, as well as cake and drinks. As we presented them with the flowers and desserts we each explained how God views women, that they are created in His image and He loves them all. Sometimes, in this Hindu society, women are seen as less than men in status. Some of those same beliefs have bled into the walls of CWC, where the guys sometimes think they are superior as well. Taking a few minutes to share Gods TRUE message with our "didis" (sisters) was very beneficial (We have also talked with the guys in a recent Bible Study about their view of their sisters, which was a great time as well). After encouraging the girls over Black Forest Cake and Pepsi--and believe me, you can basically say anything to a girl while she is eating Chocolate cake--we decided to pop in the 1990's Disney hit "The Lion King". The girls loved it! They REALLY enjoyed the night devoted to just them, excluding all the guys from enjoying their fun

....THEN.......

I was standing in my room when Sabina (16 yr. old) came in with two of her friends. "Sabina wants to tell you something," Laxmi, her friend stated happily. This was the jaw dropping, heart racing part of the night for me. Sabina hesitantly walked in the door and stared at the floor as she mustered the courage to tell me her secret (my mind was saying "dont do it. Dont do it"). "Jason, brother, I...I...I LOVE you!

...And there it was...on the floor like a fish out of water...

I had no idea how to respond or what to say. I was totally shocked, even though I somewhat figured it was coming in the 10 minute saga leading up to that point where she paced outside my room and her friends coached her from inside. So, I explained that there was a small, minor age difference (almost a decade). What do 16 year olds know about love?...or me for example? It was weird! Three to four days went by before she would even look at me again. But, I guess there isn't much that I can do about that, except tell you all so you can laugh for me.

Hope your Valentines Day was sappy and...I dunno

I'm out...