My new friend

I have a
new friend, and her name is Arianny. She is eleven years old. She
has beautiful brown eyes and a sweet, gentle spirit. Her smile could
light up a room, but I wonder how often she has the opportunity to
share that smile. You see, Arianny lives in an impoverished and
rundown community called Buenos Aires, at the base of the mountains
outside of Azua in the Dominican Republic.

My team
has had the privilege of spending time in Buenos Aires over the last
week. We have been playing sports and games with the kids, giving
lots of hugs, and going on prayer walks throughout the streets. We
have fallen in love with the children there, with their dirty feet
and hands and huge smiles and hearts. But our hearts have also been
breaking for these children and the lives they live. Not so much
because of the one or two room houses the live in, or even the fact
that most of them don’t own a pair of shoes. My heart breaks for
them because Buenos Aires is a community that is in desperate need of
hope. They need something to believe in.

Arianny
needs something to believe in.

She
needs to have hope that she will be able to enjoy her childhood in a
community where it is common for girls to get married between the
ages of 12-14. So if Arianny is lucky, she might have a couple more
years of childhood. If she’s not lucky, she might only have a couple
months. She needs to have hope that she won’t be forced into
prostitution as so many girls there are. She needs to have hope that
someday she will have a husband that loves her and cares for and
provides for their family, instead of spending his days as an
alcoholic, drinking away his responsibilities. Right now, these are
things things that Arianny has to look forward to. But it doesn’t
have to stay that way.

There is
hope in a relationship with Jesus Christ. There is peace-a peace
that comes even in the midst of poverty. Jesus can bring hope and
love and an abundant life to Arianny and the rest of the community of
Buenos Aires, even if she still doesn’t get a pair of shoes.

When we
first got to the Dominican Republic, each of our teams was asked the
question, “Why are you here?” And my answer is Arianny. I am
here not because I think I can change the entire community or fix
their poverty problem, but because maybe, just maybe, I can change
one little girl’s day. I can give her the chance to show off her
beautiful smile because I give her a hug or hold her hand or let her
braid my hair. I can let her know that she is beautiful and a
princess and a daughter of God. And I can introduce her to a Jesus
that cares for her more than anything and came to offer her an
abundant life. Something to believe in. Hope.