CONSTRUCTION WITH THE BOYS
Who knew Construction could be SOOOOOOO awesome! My prayer is that God would work through my teammates and I, in such a way, that we are able to physically get done 3x as much as normally possible. He has definitely answered that prayer. There are some days that I should be physically exhausted and sore, BUT I have not been sore one bit! Some of the things we have been doing include: bending metal poles, building posts with rebar and metal twist ties, mixing concrete with dirt by shovel and hoe, wheel barreling dirt and concrete, moving rocks by hand, and shoveling truck loads of rocks and dirt into a pile. Working with the men of the church here is such a BLESSING. The same six men come everyday to work on this church and it is just inspiring to see their dedication and hard work! When I let my mind begin to think about how I SHOULD be tired, I am amazed that God is using me in this way. For instance, after I get to the top of the hill with a wheel barrel full of rocks I look back and REALIZE that God has truly become my hands and feet.
I definitely look forward to work because I sometimes get to see my two FAVORITE Guatemalan boys! Herman and Emmanuel! Herman, also known as “No Teeth” is my favorite kid! I can’t wait to have the phrase “Can I have a hug” down in Spanish. He has a kids-sized shovel and comes and helps us work. I have probably taken about 927 pictures with him! Emmanuel is another one of my favorites! He has STOLEN my heart. I probably think about him 50x a day. He has the biggest smile! He has one blind eye and scabies (bugs under his skin) all over his body, but when I look at him I feel like God is smiling back at me. I can’t really put in to words how much this kid has been placed on my heart, but I want to share a defining moment in our relationship.
One day at the worksite Emmanuel needed some help climbing over a ditch to get to where I was and take pictures with “No Teeth” and I. So I put out my hand, knowing he had scabies, to help him up. At that moment there was a hesitation on his part, but HE TOOK MY HAND and climbed up. In that hesitation, I felt a pain. I think God gave me a glimpse of how Emmanuel feels sometimes. I know that some of the people on my squad were grossed out about his scabies, but I don’t even see it. I LOVE playing with Emmanuel and I LOVE making him feel like he is the most important kid here! There is just something about his smile, even with his physical problems, that makes me feel like I am hanging out with God.
Oh and P.S. I KNOW that he is going to get healed of scabies and his blindness in the next 10 days! I KNOW IT!
