A little boy named Litho...

Litho and I

Litho (pronounced Lita) is an 11 year old boy who loves to learn! He is not in my home class, but he is in grade 4. Therefore, I met him the first week of school and saw him outside all of last week. His smile lights up our school. He has always been intentional about coming to find me, saying hello, and asking me how I am doing, and then asking when I am going to teach him. I have been waiting for these last couple of weeks to come so that he can join our classroom. Finally, it is here! He has been in our class everyday this week. On Monday, I got to read one on one with him towards the end of the day. As we were reading, I noticed that he had no fingernails... I got nervous to ask him what happened because I knew I was not prepared for what he was going to tell me. My first thought was that it was that maybe it was a health problem, but then the thought crossed my mind that it was some form of punishment... However, the real truth was more startling than either of these thoughts. I stopped Litho from reading and grabbed his tiny little hand. I held it tightly and asked what happened to his fingernails. He looked at me, smiled hopelessly, and said, "I eat them." My heart stopped... I was never expecting this to be the reason for his pitiful hands. The next response was even more heartbreaking. I asked Him why... he replied, "I eat them if I am hungry or bored." Tears welled up in my eyes as his sweet voice continued to read aloud to me. I could barely hold it in. My heart was completely melted for this precious little child who relies on his own body for a food source. It wasn't even just what he said that jerked me so much, it was the way he said it. He said it like it was normal, ordinary, a necessity. I could barely continue reading with him because my tears would not stop as I followed his little finger as he pointed to the words in the book. My vision was clouded, my heart was breaking, and yet I felt so much JOY from having the opportunity to meet such a sweet child and love him with everything that I have. Today, he walked me up to the front of the school at the end of the day. I asked him how he gets home from school and he told me that he walks. This wasn't surprising to me, but I immediately got protective. I asked him if he walked alone and he said yes... I wanted to tell Neil (our driver) that I would be walking home today... I wanted to walk him home or give him a ride. However, I felt a peace that he would be taken care of! He smiled at me and told me he would be careful! Then, he said, "By Miss Mary, I love you!" What a great way to end the day! As we drove off I saw him walking down a dirt hill covered with cows grazing on the sparse grass. He smiled his precious smile and waved as we drove away. My eyes were again filled with tears- but this time they were tears of JOY. He is so special to me and he brings me so much joy! Little Litho... I cannot wait to spend the rest of the week with him...

So excited about writing letters and reading:)