Ivan

This is my little buddy Ivan. He lives in the house across the alley from me. Brian, my roommate and I got to know Ivan because since the first day Ivan knocked on our door asking for cookies. It has now become a daily routine for Ivan and his little cousin Brian to knock on our door and ask for cookies. We have started giving him cookied every other day becasue Ivan is a smart little guy.

Ivan would watch our apartment and wait for one of us to be alone and then go and ask for cookies. So Ivan and Brian were each getting cookies twice a day, once from me and once from my roommate Brian. The little guys would then go to the house of our co-workers Will and Audrey and ask them for cookies. On some days Ivan and Brian were raking in three cookies each. We Americans finally smartened up and now they only get a cookie a day beween us. Ivan is only four years old and can't count...that is unless there are cookies involved.

In the photo above he is in our "living room" doing karate moves. He loves activity. His mom however does not. I am actually not even sure where they get money to buy food or pay rent. Not sure means I have an idea what they are doing something illegal but I can't say absolutely.

But here is the thing...Brain and I started taking little Ivan and his cousin to church where there is a good solid kids program. That coupled with the fact that Ivan has a sponsor through the G.O Kis program to the school we work with in the neighborhood. Ivan is talking about God now all of the time. The other day my landlady, Marta, caught him, Ivan, throwing rocks at my door. He was being a little boy. So when I heard about this I yelled down the alley for Ivan to come and speak with Marta and I. I said to Ivan, you know Brian and I love you but were you throwing rocks at our door earlier? He did not respond right away. I could tell he was thinking and then he spit out, "yes, I was but she forgave me." The way he said it with his innocent face and voice I could not help bust out laughing and neither could Marta who was with us. After catching my breath from laughter I did tell him he would not get cookies for three days.

Another thing is now we have invited his mom and aunt to church. They have started attending church. Praise God that they are being fed with this spiritual food through this little four year old boy. Please pray for Ivan's mom and Brian's mom and his grandmother. This photo is of Brian and Ivan coloring with a kit left by a recent team from Discovery Church in CA. They are on the front porch of their house where they live with their respective moms and grandmother.