You have taught me so much
Out of the many ninos I have met within the last two months, Nahomy is one whom I think about most often. I miss this beautiful girl from Honduras as I recall memories we made together.
Who would have thought that God would use a 3 page picture book (that doesn’t even make much sense) to help create a bond between two strangers. A part of my ministry while I was in Honduras included helping the girls with their homework after school. Nahomy was required to read for 20 minutes after school and was not enthusiastic about it. I asked her if she needed help getting her reading assignment done and with a little hesitation, she agreed to let me read to her.
I have always enjoyed reading but wasn’t always good at it when I was her age. It took people helping me and telling me I was capable in order for me to grow in my reading skills. But when you aren’t great at something, it’s not a lot of fun to do. With that mindset I wanted to turn her reading homework into something fun filled with smiles.
Nahomy flips open to this silly short story called Dance for your Daddy and I decided to turn it into a song. Next thing I know, she is begging for me to sing it for the 27th time with her giggling and singing along.
We sang that song from memory at least 50 more times throughout my time in Honduras.
I share all of this to showcase the simplicity of love.
Love looks different everyday.
And for that day, love looked like spending time with Nahomy and helping her with her homework.
The fruit that came from that was a friendship and multiple opportunities to pour out the Fathers love. Not only did we laugh and play together. But Nahomy quickly allowed me to see parts of her heart that not everyone gets to see.
I’ll never take for granted her ability to trust me with her heart overtime. Her vulnerability to collapse in my arms and sob as she expressed what hurt her feelings, what she desired, what she missed, and what she wants for the future.
A few days prior to leaving Honduras, Nahomy crawled in my lap, wrapped her arms around me and cried while telling me she didn’t want me to leave.
I got to explain to her that I was so happy to have become her friend and that she has taught me so much about strength and courage. I told her how proud I am of her and how much I believe in her, but more importantly how much the Father loves and believes in her. I told her that she didn’t have to be afraid of saying goodbye to me because Jesus was never going to leave her. That Jesus is inside of her and inside of me therefore we will always be connected.
My time here in Central America is over and I journey onward to Africa already.
My prayer for the people I had the honor of meeting these last three months is that you would continue to discover how deeply loved you are. That you are worthy of extravagant love. You are seen, chosen, valued, and cherished. The culture may try to define you by your life’s circumstances, but God has promises and redemption written over your life and I pray that you would claim them for yourselves. I pray that you would choose courage. Choose Him with your whole heart.
Thank you for blessing me with your lives. You will never be forgotten. You have taught me so much.
