Yesterday, I did my laundry for the first time this month.
That is partly because I dislike handwashing my clothes but it is mostly because this is the rainy season in Nicaragua and yesterday was one of the first days that it was straight up really sunny in the morning.
I washed my clothes and then, instead of hanging them on one of the lines that we so conveniently have inside of the house, I took some chairs outside to put them out in the sun to hopefully dry. I brought my Bible and set the clothes up on the chair. Then I sat on the ground- more accurately dirt- beside them and started reading. The plan was to let the clothes dry and then go inside and sleep. Almost immediately, a couple of little boys came and sat a little bit away from me. I just kept reading my Bible and they just kept sitting there. I looked up and talked to them in the little Spanish that I knew and then continued reading.
After a little while, I felt God telling me to stop reading.
He told me to put my Bible down.
He told me that I am here right now with some of His precious creations, whom He loves dearly.
He told me to live in the moment.
He told me to stop reading the Bible in that moment and to focus my attention on those boys.
So, I did.
I put my Bible down and I started to make more conversation. I played charades with them, trying to talk to them. Soon after that, other children began to come up because there was a gringa sitting on the street, talking to people. The other children gathered around and we were all talking. After a little bit of me talking in Spanish, I was able to find out that they didn’t know English, but would like to learn. So, I started teaching them English.
There was one little boy, Christofer, that would always put his hand under my chin to turn my face to him when he talked to me. Whether I was looking at him or someone else.
There was one girl, Berta, that let me paint her fingernails. She had gone into her cardboard/wood/trashbag house behind me and gotten some nailpolish.
The was one little boy, Eddie, that gave me one of those lollipops that you will see at Valentine’s Day. You know, those red heart-shaped ones. The one that he gave me said kiss me.
There was another little boy, Joshua, that took my heart-shaped lollipop that Eddie had given me. lol.
There was a little girl, Michelle, that brought each of her well worn stuffed animals out of her house for me to inspect.
There was a little girl, Sarah, that asked me how to say like every word in English. Most of the words she said to me I didn’t even know.
After talking, painting nails, trying to follow their rapid burts of Spanish, and trying to teach some English, we played some baseball in the street.
Time flew by. Hours. When I found out what time it was, I gathered my now way dry clothes and went into the house to prepare for our youth group ministry.
Today, the same thing happened.I was really tired, but after breakfast, I took some other clothes out to dry. I thought that all of the kids that I had met yesterday were at school. I took out my Bible again with me. When I sat down though, Berta came over to me. She told me that she was leaving today to go to school a couple of hours away for the rest of the year. (When our contact, Kerri, saw that I played with the children yesterday, she gave me a plastic bowling set to use.) So, I got my camera and got the bowling set. We bowled in the street. When there were no cars, of course. After a couple of hours, Berta, her sister Sarah, and Joshua (the lolli-napper) left for Managua.
The Race is made up of moments.
Moments like these.
I am so thankful that God let me have these moments.
Thank you to everyone that has loved me and supported me throughout this Race!! I seriously couldn’t have done it without every thought, encouragement, and prayer!
Please pray that I can be intentional in every moment. Pray that I am discerning of the Father’s will. Please pray that I can keep having these moments!
<3 Ash
