The other night a group of us went to grab some dinner after a very full day. There was a Christian concert in town that night and half of the group was interested in going. So after dinner we made our way through the streets of Quiche, Guatemala towards wherever the lights and music were coming from and found the concert. It was somewhat expensive to get in and was already half over, so the few people who wanted to still go were bartering with the people at the door while the rest of us waited.
That’s when I saw him. The saddest little face I’ve ever seen. He was sitting by the entrance in a t-shirt, freezing. From where I was standing I could see the hairs standing on end on his arm. He was trying to sell small vases made from old beer cans. Alone and cold, I lost it. I started crying. This sad little face broke my heart.
I asked a couple people I was standing with to come with me to find this child something hot to drink. After checking some nearby corner marts we finally found a bakery that was still open. All they had was coffee, but it was better than nothing. We loaded up on baked goods and also decided to include our leftovers from dinner in our bag for this child.
Right away when I had met him and even as we returned with food and coffee, the thought kept running through my head to give him my rain jacket. It was the only long sleeve item with me, but the problem was, it’s rainy season here and it rains Every. Single. Day. I’ve used my rain jacket more than almost anything so far. I asked the Lord to move my heart if He wanted me to give it to him.
I’m praying the entire time we are gone that he would still be there when we return, and as we turn the corner I see his little red shirt, huddled by the entrance. I moved as fast as I could over to him with these gifts and offered them to him. He quickly grabbed them, so quickly it sort of shocked me and the two girls with me. Clearly this kid needed food.
I can’t speak much Spanish, so with that there was nothing left to do but leave. In the back of my mind I kept kicking myself in the butt for not giving him my jacket. It all had happened so fast I forgot! The whole walk home I kept trying to think of how I could get him something warm to wear. To my surprise, half our squad was still awake when we arrived back home. I quickly grabbed a couple people who were already planning on going for a walk and convinced them to walk by the concert with me. I grabbed a warm zip up hoodie and race-walked my way back to where he was.
But there was no red shirt in sight. I looked all over, in between cars and around corners. He was gone. I went back to where I had seen him before and all that was left was a very empty coffee cup. I continue to pray that I will run into him again and instead of trying to justify why I need to keep my jacket, I will gladly give him the clothes off my back. Regardless, the Lord gave me His heart for this little boy, if only a small bit. I continue to ask the Lord to give me His heart and eyes for others, and He has been answering.
