“For I was hungry and you gave me food […] I was naked and you clothed me […] Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” Matthew 25:25, 40.
A few weeks ago, my team shared a paradigm shifting experiences with the street kids of Cagayan de Oro. We offered you the opportunity for you to partner with Street Light to make a difference in the lives of these rambunctious kids.
Before…..(photo credit Elissa Holland)
On Wednesday, after school, 15 kids and 9 adults invaded Savmore (the local version of Wal-Mart). Daniella and her sister Angie dragged me through the door and up the stairs so quickly that I almost fell. Honestly, the adults were more than a little nervous about the ensuing chaos. Remarkably, however, the kids behaved themselves quite well.
Daniella and Angie flew through every shoe displayed in the store. Daniella, savvy shopper that she is, found the Buy 1 Get 1 Free rack and scored two pairs of shoes! Upon concluding the process of finding out shoe sizes, we moved over to shirts. “Hello Kitty!” t-shirts drew both girls like a magnet. Initially, Daniella grabbed a tiny shirt, much too small for her. Instead, we searched for some time before finding one, more suited to her figure. Then came the dressing room! Both girls and I wedged ourselves into the tiny curtained room. I juggled hangers, shirts, pants and shoes as the girls threw off their clothes and struggled into the new ones. Too excited to stand still, I spun them around slowly to ascertain that the clothes did indeed fit.
Arriving home, everyone paused outside the door just long enough for us to squeeze in a picture before everyone dashed inside to adorn themselves in their new-found treasures. Throughout the next week, we kept finding stashes of new clothes tucked away in random spaces of the center. Costume changes happened with alacrity everyday, often more than once a day. Clearly, the children treasure their new clothes and have resolved not to spoil them with rugby or dirt stains.
On behalf of our kids – Thank You! Thank you for providing them with clothes. You have shown them love in a very special way. We are delighted to share this moment with you!
Continue to follow the exploits of the Cagayan de Oro kids through Natalie, Leah, and Meagan’s blogs (www.nataliebrownstephens.weebly.com,www.chosenandappointed.com, www.aprisonerofhope.com).
