pria. part 1.

First, let me tell you about Kamina. 

Kamina is a beautiful young nurse that I met earlier this week. When I asked her what her name means, she excitedly told me that it means "deep desire." Her mother had always wanted- no, deeply desired- a little girl, but she got two sons. Finally, her third child was a daughter, who she joyfully named Kamina. After she explained the meaning of her name to me, Kamina told me how much she enjoys explaining the meaning of her name to people.

You see, when you tell someone something over and over again, that person starts to believe it. Each time Kamina's mother called her by name, she reminded her daughter of how loved and wanted she is. Kamina has no doubt that even before her birth, she has been deeply loved and accepted.   

Asmita's story is different. 

She is the smallest. She is not the cutest. She got her head shaved because of the lice and she is always covered in a thick layer of dirt. She has a snot mustache  one hundred percent of the time. You'll know that it is her by her dinosaur sweatshirt. 

But that's not what I see.

Because I can see what is beneath the layer of dirt, snot, and dinosaurs. I can see the Asmita that Jesus formed perfectly. She is smart and brave. Her personality is big enough to fill up a castle. Five seconds with her smile and her voice will melt your heart and erase your sorrows.

I don't know who her parents are, but all the grown-ups and other children in the neighborhood call her "Cootie" which means !*&%. It is one of those words that you would be embarrassed to say in front of your mother. Yet she answers to it. She believes that is her identity.   

We believe what we hear. 

A few months ago Cynthia, Asmita, and I were sitting in the tea shop across the street talking with one of our friends and a man walked in. He asked Asmita what her name is. She looked up at him with her big, brown, three year old eyes and said, 

"Cootie." 

"No, no. What is your name?"

"Cootie. I'm Cootie."

.........

Read Part 2 and Part 3

If we believe what we hear, what are some things that you are hearing about yourself? Are they true?