That is Jimmy…. Let me back up a little bit. One of my team members Will Jung has a friend who is on the World Race I-Squad. The I-Squad was here at Cicrin three or four months before we arrived. When Will found out we would be going to Cicrin he contacted his friend to let her know we would be visiting Cicrin. While she was at Cicrin, she developed a special bond with two of the children and wanted Will to pass something along to them. Will was excited to share the “gifts” with the boys that she had asked him to find. On the first night we were here, Will told the director that he had something to pass along to some of the children from a former racer. Helen inquired, “Which boys Will?” As probably already guessed Jimmy was one of those boys.
Helen informed us that Jimmy was special….. and he loves harassing Gringas (White Girls). From the first moment, Jimmy stood out from the rest of the kids here. Jimmy is his own man. He hears a drum beating, he walks to the beat he hears, and I can assure you no one else hears the beat he is walking to unless it is beaten on a table or your body. Jimmy is fourteen years old and has more energy than you could possible fathom. I am certain he receives most satisfaction when he has someone on the brink of insanity. Jimmy is a practical joker; he loves to taunt people with scorpions, bullfrogs and tarantulas. I suppose it is his primary objective to drive people out of their minds.
Sadly, I relate to Jimmy more than the other kids at Cicrin. The problem is I am just like Jimmy, I have way to much energy and if I do not have a release for that energy, I harness it all into harassing others. Jimmy would be ADHD if he lived in the states. However, here he is just a kid. I think Jimmy has caused some amount of frustration for everyone in our group. Yet I think people love him despite his obnoxious nature.
Jimmy is annoying at times, but he hangs out with us, even though there is a language barrier he chooses to allow us to be a part of his life. He is very outgoing and I have enjoyed the time we spend together. When we first arrived, Jimmy attempted to avoid everyone, and if you did speak to him, he would reply “NAH.” I chose not to wait for him to warm up to me; rather I chose to force myself into his life by being more annoying than he was. For the first week, we were here Jimmy and I had epic battles after dinner. Yes, moms we fought in the Kitchen, in the house, and in front of other children. I beat the junk out of this poor kid and he loved it!!! He smiled through every single punch, kick, and elbow drop. I found that he breaks in the “figure-4.” (Anyone that knows what that is just earned a little more respect.) It turned out that dinner battles were not enough. Jimmy also needed beating after breakfast and lunch. I taught Jimmy how to play hand slaps, finger breaks, and thumps. For some reason we as men like pain… it creates a bond in some freaky way. However, as time has progressed Jimmy stopped “picking on.” Instead of a punch as a greeting, I get pats on the back. Rather than a fake punch to the face, I get high-fives. Where Jimmy used to say “NAH” he now says “hi.”
Every night on the World Race, our team sits down and talks about the day’s events. We vent, we complain, we share, and we encourage. This process really helps us develop a family and process through what God is teaching us. At Cicrin we have been having this time in our bedroom. For some reason our room becomes a sweatbox. In an attempt to keep the room cooler, we open the curtains to allow more airflow. Last night as we were having this time Jimmy walked by and we invited him to join us. Please realize he speaks minimal English, but he chose to sit with us for at least thirty minutes not understanding anything we said. I asked Erika, who speaks Spanish, to ask him how we could pray for him. He said, “Nothing specific.”
Let me clarify something. Jimmy is surrounded by Christians and goes to church…. However, to measure his actions, they can be less than godly at times. I am not saying that he is not a Christian! I am saying his actions at times are not super godly.
Jimmy said we could pray for him! I pulled his chair into the center of the room and we laid our hands on him to pray. As we became silent, God started revealing His heart for Jimmy. We started praying/proclaiming truth over Jimmy. We claimed for him the promises that God revealed to us! Without saying to much, I can say that God is going to use Jimmy in MIGHTY ways.
Last night God confirmed a lesson He has been teaching me for almost a month. In the natural realm, Jimmy is a little bit annoying and initiates problems. However, in the spiritual realm Jimmy is called to greatness. Most people know the scripture:
1 Samuel 16:7 For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”
Jimmy’s Beat Down from Brad Baldwin on Vimeo.
