I sat down on a cool concrete wall amongst several children playing. It was quite hot outside but the porch of the medical that was building being built on the property of the school we were visiting offered some shade and flat ground, void of any holes and glass, for the kids play games on. I was there in hopes that I could make some connections with the kids and begin to have small conversations in my very broken Spanish. That soon proved to be more difficult than I anticipated. This was the first time that Go Ministries had been in this particular village. This is due to an incident in the past that involved some people in the village burning a couple of political figures alive, over a very controversial construction project which threatened their land and way of life. Up until very recently this 100% Mayan village was a closed community, even to American missionaries who, among the rest of the country, are very highly regarded. It was apparent to me that there are still lingering sensitivities and barriers to overcome, not only in this village but in Mayan communities as a whole. For the most part the day was going well, however. I then spot a little girl, no older than 6, playing by herself. She was wearing jeans, and a dirty white sweatshirt with a purple hood and sleeves. I just sit and watch as she holds and inspects a plastic toy. She turns it over and over trying to understand what it is and how it works. She soon discovers that if she pushes the plastic rotor up the spiral rod that it will spin up and off to fly through the air like the top of a helicopter. If I said that I have ever seen a more pure and innocent joy, I would be lying. Her face was full of awe and wonder as this toy spun off the rod, glided over the other children and landed a few yards away from her. She immediately ran to pick up the rotor and do it again. She did this over and over again making it go higher and farther with each turn. After a few minutes of enjoying the sight of pure childhood joy, I got her attention and asked her name. The only thing cuter than what I had already witnessed was when she smiled at me and started rocking back and forth in apprehensive timidity. She remained silent and just looked at me with big eyes and the smile painted on her face. I attempted to ask again in more clear Spanish but she was steadfast in her bashfulness. She then hopped around and went about her business with her toy, not a care in the world. I continued to sit on the side in wonderment over the joy that I was witnessing in those children, even though they had so little. I then turned my attention to two small boys. They were throwing small, cardboard circles, with colorful designs on them (similar to pogs for all you 90’s kids) up against the wall. I soon realized that the object of the game was to get your “pog” as close as possible to the other kid’s and if it get close enough, that “pog” was then yours to keep. I watched them do this for about 20 minutes. The smiles on their faces were contagious. Shortly after that My friend Monica came to sit with me. She is fluent in Spanish and I am not. As soon as she sat down she started talking to some of the kids. They were shy just like the one I had encountered but Monica was relentless. She continued to ask questions until she got responses. Soon we were surrounded by little kids answering questions like “What color is this shirt?” and “how do you say blue in English?” At one point we realized that the kids were just getting closer and closer. They might as well have been sitting on our laps, but we loved it. Every second. We learn a lot of lessons on the whole World Race thing that we decided to do, but one of the biggest things that I have learned from it is that the Power of Christ dwells in the little things. That even in a seemingly insignificant moment or interaction, The Lord shows up and it is unmistakeable and unforgettable.
