We had the privilege today to take two little boys to get a haircut. Their smiles were so big and bright after they jumped out of the chair
with their new hairdo. One of those smiles where you try and hide the joy, but
your face can’t help but squeeze out the happiness with a grin from ear to
ear. You know that kind of smile?
What makes this trip to the local barber shop special, is
that these boys live in extreme poverty. Their house situation made my stomach
churn with grief, their life on the streets at age 4 and 5 made me angry, and
their laughter and playfulness through it all made me want to help them even
more.
Their mom is trying her best to provide for and raise her
children. But with the need to work to provide food for the day, these two
little boys are left to wander the neighborhood streets in all the traffic of
motorcycles, cars, street vendors, and happenings of the adult world around them.
What broke my heart is that they live amongst evil – a world full of it at every turn. One where these two boys are at risk, high risk, to be taken
advantage of, or harmed, in the most sickening ways possible.
And so for an afternoon, an unplanned visit (some great friends invited us into their ministry work), we were able to visit
with the mom and her children to provide them with a little food, laughter,
encouragement, prayer, and a visit to the barber shop. 3 guys who love God, taking out 2
little guys for some bonding, and 2 young women of God spending an afternoon with a struggling mom and
her young daughter.
It’s moments like these that make the 15 Quetzales ($2 usd) haircut
worth a million dollars. Because these boys are what it’s about. What this
whole thing of living the Christian life is about. I needed this reminder
today. They were worth a million dollars to me today. They actually blessed us
more than they’ll ever know. The least we could do would be to take them out on
the town in the good way.
