You see them wherever you walk in Commander. They have their box filled with polish, oils, brushes and towels. They walk around asking for business every day of the week. They are boys ranging from ages of 8 to 16. It’s a normal occurrence and on the Wednesday before we left the DR, we entered into their world.
The pastor we are staying with has a heart for these boys and asked us if we would be willing to go talk to them in the morning and discuss how they feel about supporting their families and if they have dreams of a different career. We met them at the park and as we sat there; they weren’t sure of us at first but soon opened up. I realized that these are just little boys, boys who should be going to school and getting into trouble. They shouldn’t have to worry about providing for a family but instead who is the cutest girl and where to play basketball after school! But this is their life and surprisingly they don’t seem to notice it at all!
After we talk to them, the pastor asked them to come back after lunch and we will be painting their boxes and filling up their supplies!
That afternoon as my team and I are turning the corner of the church, these little boys are already there waiting for us. Word has spread and there are about double the amount of boys than this morning. We set up shop in the back of the church and I grab a paint brush and start working. 3 of us are painting these little wood boxes this royal blue color. These kids are so excited they keep pushing theirs to the front hoping they won’t be left out.
As soon as we got done painting them, the boxes would go behind us and in red paint the words “God is Love” “Trust in the Lord” and other sayings in Spanish would go on the sides of the box.. We filled up their polish, oils and brushes making sure they had enough supplies to do their job. The last thing we did was put their names on their own boxes.
Seeing their excitement and ownership of their own box filled up heart up! Something that only took a couple of hours to do, a few dollars to spend and some paint on our clothes was nothing compared to what these boys got that afternoon!
For one afternoon, they got to be boys and be taken care of. They were so excited to show off their very own box! They could go around the town and now be proud that they take care of their family. I wish I could be able to write a picture in your head of the way these boys looked like when they stood in line waiting to make sure they got everything. The ‘adult” was gone in their eyes and they had child eyes again.
Waving good bye, most of them went home, some stayed around looking at their boxes and some took a few more costumers. A teammate and I stood and watched as one little boys who couldn’t be more than 9-10 years old shines a man’s shoe. He had a smile on his face and we felt like proud of our shoe shine kids!
We didn’t have a lot of time left in Comendador, but every time we walked around town and saw one of our boys, they would wave and have a huge smile on their face!
It reminded me of appreciating the little things in life. I’m lucky I didn’t have to get a job at 8 to support my family! I got to have a childhood and now am able to travel the world showing God’s love! But those little boys hopefully now know that they are loved and cared for and that they are children of God!
The pastor we are staying with has a heart for these boys and asked us if we would be willing to go talk to them in the morning and discuss how they feel about supporting their families and if they have dreams of a different career. We met them at the park and as we sat there; they weren’t sure of us at first but soon opened up. I realized that these are just little boys, boys who should be going to school and getting into trouble. They shouldn’t have to worry about providing for a family but instead who is the cutest girl and where to play basketball after school! But this is their life and surprisingly they don’t seem to notice it at all!
After we talk to them, the pastor asked them to come back after lunch and we will be painting their boxes and filling up their supplies!
That afternoon as my team and I are turning the corner of the church, these little boys are already there waiting for us. Word has spread and there are about double the amount of boys than this morning. We set up shop in the back of the church and I grab a paint brush and start working. 3 of us are painting these little wood boxes this royal blue color. These kids are so excited they keep pushing theirs to the front hoping they won’t be left out.
As soon as we got done painting them, the boxes would go behind us and in red paint the words “God is Love” “Trust in the Lord” and other sayings in Spanish would go on the sides of the box.. We filled up their polish, oils and brushes making sure they had enough supplies to do their job. The last thing we did was put their names on their own boxes.
Seeing their excitement and ownership of their own box filled up heart up! Something that only took a couple of hours to do, a few dollars to spend and some paint on our clothes was nothing compared to what these boys got that afternoon!
For one afternoon, they got to be boys and be taken care of. They were so excited to show off their very own box! They could go around the town and now be proud that they take care of their family. I wish I could be able to write a picture in your head of the way these boys looked like when they stood in line waiting to make sure they got everything. The ‘adult” was gone in their eyes and they had child eyes again.
Waving good bye, most of them went home, some stayed around looking at their boxes and some took a few more costumers. A teammate and I stood and watched as one little boys who couldn’t be more than 9-10 years old shines a man’s shoe. He had a smile on his face and we felt like proud of our shoe shine kids!
We didn’t have a lot of time left in Comendador, but every time we walked around town and saw one of our boys, they would wave and have a huge smile on their face!
It reminded me of appreciating the little things in life. I’m lucky I didn’t have to get a job at 8 to support my family! I got to have a childhood and now am able to travel the world showing God’s love! But those little boys hopefully now know that they are loved and cared for and that they are children of God!
