Our typical day consisted of VBS in the morning and construction in the afternoon. At the beginning of the week, the children of San Pablo (the village my team visited) were hesitant to interact with us. They had not seen many white people and were very cautious. We taught them Bible verses and praise songs and did crafts and games with them. Their favorite craft was when we took their pictures (with good ole Polaroid cameras) and let them decorate frames for their pictures. We taught them the story of Zaccheus and told them that Jesus knew Zaccheus, called him by name, knew everything about him, and loved him. We taught them and showed them that Jesus knows them, knows their names, and loves them.
By the end of the week, we had developed an incredible bond with these children. They ran up to us, hugged us, and sat in our laps. They held our hands, wrestled with the guys, and cuddled with the ladies. Sometimes they liked to just look at us, in the face, looking into our eyes. In those moments, it didn’t matter that all I could say in Spanish was “Jesus te ama” (Jesus loves you). God’s love transcends all cultures and all languages. What a privilege to be the hands and feet and love of Christ to those children…and what a privilege to be loved by them in return.
The very last day we were over an hour late getting to the village because of a mudslide. Over 200 children sat in an un-airconditioned church, so packed they could barely move, and waited on us to get there. When we arrived, they were so happy to see us, they literally screamed, clapped, and cheered. How humbling. I still cry just thinking about those sweet children. I’ve never laughed so hard or cried so often in one week. I miss them deeply.
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