Uncontrollable Emotions, Willing Hearts

At this point in the Mission trip I am getting more and more comfortable with the natural surroundings and over the next couple of entries I think I am starting to get comfortable with the people as well.  This has been a difficult process thanks to the language barriers that exist.  The weather throughout this day was cloudy with heavy rain at times but despite this I seem to be in great spirits.  In my front notes for the day (which I don't write here), I noted that I felt blessed, fortunate, hopeful for their future, and proud for "lifting" my voice and for what our team is doing.  It was a great day, possibly one of the most enduring days of the trip for me.  Even reading it now I get emotional as I can instantly go back to some of the events of the day.  This is one day that no words will ever do justice and I will never be able to fully capture how it impacted my in words. 

May 26, 2010

This day will be incredibly hard to put into words.  the previous days I have been working hard on building the sport court and today was very different.  Today I interacted more with the Village and it's people and focused on my one word.

First thing though, I have been getting up before everyone and writing my journal and emailing family.  After that breakfast is usually on.  I find it cool how quickly I have gotten into a rythym here.  After breakfast today we worked on the court for a short period before Wendy, Sara, Bernadette, Denise, and I did some home visits.

The homes we visited were those of children whom members of our church sponsor.  We were able to visit 3 young girls all below the age of 13 years old.  I was unprepared how emotional of an experience this would be for me.  The first home was a large family with 8 children, grandparents, parents, daughter-in-law, and grandchild.  They were a tight knit family that by VH II standards were likely well off.  They had a weaving loom where they produced skirts and sashes for a company in Santa Cruz.  They also had a T.V, and a rock oven.  The T.V ran off a generator and the kids watched videos on it.  The little girl was the youngest in the family and her eyes lit up when we presented her with the bag of school supplies and clothing.

The second family we visited was a smaller and poorer family.  They currently live in the little girl's grandmother's house, but were in the process of building a new home when we arrived.  The father had spent 3years in the US trying to earn money but returned to see his family with little extra to show for his time away.  His two little girls were precious and his wife beamed with pride in her family.  When this little girl tried on her clothes she giggled and lit up a dreary sky.  This is where I cracked and uncontrollably, and without knowing, tears lightly fell from my eyes.  to see this family, who had very little, welcome us into their home, and to see their love for one another, and to provide their daughter with a gift of not tactile things, but hope and a simple smile is an emotional experience I will never forget.

The third family was the smallest with only the immediate family of four living there.  They had a cinder block home, more modern than the others, but we were told it was a government project home and that the family ws very poor.  Catarina was the little girl we were to visit and this 7 year old had a weary tired face that again touched me very deep down.  I was chosen to present her with her gift on behalf of the McConnells and was blessed in so doing.  She was at first a bit timid of me I think because I probably appeared very large to her, but when I knelt down and asked her to sit on a bench beside me she became more comfortable.  She said she was in grade one and that she likes to draw.  She really liked the stickers, paper, and supplies the McConnells donated and finally smiled when I helped her put on the new pink beret.  When I helped here try on the sweaters I thought of my daughter, Shaylee, and how in a couple of years it will be her in need of school supplies and clothes, and again I started to feel tears creep into my eyes and used humor to lighten the mood.  This will be an experience I will never forget.

As we headed back to the worksite I snapped pictures of flowers and the Catholic Church.  Coffee beans, oranges, corn, it is amazing the diversity here, but as you look at the weather it is no wonder.  We are supposedly here during the rainy season but throughout everyday we get clouds, sun, rain, or a combination of all the above.

I helped out a little at the worksite before heading to lunch.  After lunch we prepped materials for VBS before heading to lead the kids.  We estimated over 140 kids sang, cheered, and smiled with us as we told stories about Jesus ability to heal.  This was another joyful moment where God's love could be seen throughout the church, and I hoped he would heal all there if just for a day.

After VBS we met once again with the weaving group and provided some business and Co-op experience.  The president of the group seemed very intelligent and eager to make this project work.  I hope that with a good plan, accountability, and God's will this will provide a great stepping stone toward sustainability.

A young 17 year old girl in this group is helping her father raise her 4 younger siblings as her mother passed away three months after her youngest sibling was born.  She is so young to have so much responsibility, yet she seems very willing and accepting to take on that and more.  It is possible that she very well represents a good number of the Villagers in her willingness to serve family.

Many of the young women stuck around after the tutorial and drew pictures and shared names and words with us with much focus on Lauren and Denise.  The day quickly drew to night and supper was shortly served up.  We prayed and sang some worship songs before heading to our appropriate rooms.