Hey guys!
Back story: We have been working with a ministry called Pan de Vida, where we welcome the homeless in the compound to receive a free meal and a lesson about God. We play with the kids on the swing set while the adults are in sessions and then the kids go up for their own little lesson that we sometimes lead. While the kids were playing I noticed a little boy hiding behind a tree, one of the volunteers would try and go up to him and play with him but he just ran away and found a new place to hide.
Hiding behind a bench this little boy, no older than two, looked lonely with a kind of sadness in his eyes. Something in me was drawn to put a smile on his face. He didn’t want to play with anyone or maybe he was just scared but I decided to go sit on the ground in front of the bench. He saw me and backed away, unsure of what I was doing there. The little boy started picking up leaves and placed them on the seat of the bench, I joined, showing him the leaf, getting his approval with an nod, and then placing them in line with the others. We sat in silence for about five minuets while picking through the fallen leaves. Still no smile, the only improvement was him inching just a little bit closer. I picked up a leaf, placed it in between my thumb and pointer finger and then stared twisting. In that moment his face lit up like the sun, as I continued he took the leaf and then gave me a knew one to spin. Each time his face would light up with excitement, he would laugh and laugh, slowing coming out of his hiding place. Now on the other side of the bench we stared playing a new game where he would throw me his sweatshirt and then I would throw it back, high in the air, he would fall to the ground, and then the sweatshirt would land on his face, he laughed as though he heard the best joke in the world. We repeated this process over and over, throw, fall, laughter. He taught me to find joy in the simple things, that there is no need to hide because God has me in his hands.
