Sunday Afternoon

Sunday I was given the opportunity to remember why I love going to the river and spending time with the kids who live there. I had been feeling sick, tired, exhausted,worn out (I think you get the idea) and it took all my will-power to make myself get out of bed Sunday afternoon to make our weekly appearance at the tiny church at the top of the hill. I felt guilty about not wanting to go, and hoped that once I was there my attitude would be changed. And it was. It was really just any other Sunday. The same 15-20 kids that are always there were sitting in small wooden chairs learning about Moses as a baby (quite a smaller group than the 95 that showed up for the Christmas party). As we came over the top of the hill, little Alvaro, our favorite 4 year old, came running out, smiling, laughing, and screaming, "Hermanas!!!" (sisters...what the kids call us, Hermana Ashlyn and Hermana Kristen). My attitude changed in that instant.

One thing that made this Sunday a little different was that we were able to hand out brand new clothes to the kids. Kristen's sister-in-law had collected two huge boxes of brand new children's clothes and sent them to us for the kids. Today we were just handing out one outfit per child, in order to spread out the gifts to be distrubuted as they were needed. Two of the mothers came, which is always unusual. Both mothers had small babies, (as well as at least 6 older children), and were just the sweetest women. Their smiles and appreciation were truly genuine and to me it seemed like a small breakthrough into reaching whole families. After handing out clothes, Elisabeth left and Kristen and I were left to "tutor" the older kids. Tutoring usually turns into reading with half of the kids, while the other half play different math games with flash cards. That day however, the kids were more interested in playing with Kristen's camera and having their picture taken than anything else. And they had a blast...running from the camera, posing for the camera, making videos.

I really can't quite put my finger on what made that day so special. However I think I have looked through the pictures from that day 5 or 6 times. Those kids have nothing, and Kristen and I don't usually bring anything for them. That day we had, but normally it is just ourselves. And that is all they want. They appreciate the clothes, shoes, socks, and underwear, but I really think the time spent reading, playing, taking pictures, playing beauty shop, and laughing, is more valuable to them than anything we could put in a bag. Amazing. And as we were leaving, one of the older girls, Mari, stopped us and took from her wrist two sparkly, plastic bracelets, a prized possession among the girls. She gave one to each of us, smiled, and then continued walking down the hill. I wear it as a reminder of the humility the Lord has been teaching me in many ways throughout this year. And I look forward to next Sunday afternoon.