Steve and Casey Cretsinger Experiencing Tribal Missions in Guinea, W. Africa 
Getting ready to sing Happy Birthday - he looks a little overwhelmed with all the attention
Mo is like another son for me. For our first year here, he played in our house with Ephraim just about every day. He learned the English words for “stop, more, please, mine, and share” very quickly during these play sessions with Ephraim. His home is a never ending flurry of chaos, screaming and people hitting on the kids. Our house was quiet (for the most part), had toys he’d never seen and had lots of snacks sent from the states – he was in heaven! His French is actually pretty good for a six year old and I at least had some talk to during those difficult days.
When we moved here to our mission center, it was hard to say goodbye to him. I feel responsible for him. I hate the thought of people abusing him and being mean to him. I see how “hard and tough” he is becoming because it’s the only way to survive here and it makes me ache for him. I wish I could do more for him, but I can’t swoop in and take him away. I have to pray for him, show him love when I can and encourage his family to show kindness.
Mo’s birthday was this past week. He had been reminding me for a month that his birthday was coming up because he knew that we would do something to celebrate with him. There is a wonderful pool about an hour from us that has been closed for the past six months but thankfully just reopened. We decided to head there for the day and give him a day of fun with just us. He loved being there. He smiled from the moment we got there until we left for the day. He didn’t even want to get out to eat – which for him is major!
After a long and tiring day we headed back to his house. His mom had some guys from town bring a stereo system to the house and all the neighborhood kids came over for a dance. We cut the cake into the tiniest pieces to serve everyone – basically the kids got just a taste of chocolate cake! You should have seen the crowd so eager for some cake.
I’m thankful that we can be a part of Mo’s life. It’s not an easy road that he has ahead of him. I pray that we can be a light to him – that he sees something different in us and he will be drawn to it. I pray that we can be an influence of change in his family. I thank God for this opportunity to make a difference in his life.
Dance party for the neighborhood
Loving that pool
Tags: friends, host family, relationships
