I recently spent all of my morning hanging out with
Gonzalo (one of the older kids at the home) and his school’s marching band. I
was not really sure what to expect from the morning but after watching them
practice and walking with them down the street towards the stadium, I was
pretty sure it was going to be just your normal marching band performance. It
was upon entering the stadium that I received my shock.
The stadium was completely packed. There were more bands
than I could count and even more people. One group of fans sat really close
together and had different colored clothes that they would raise in unison to
make patterns – similar to what you might see at a college football game in the
States.
The bands were extremely impressive looking. Some were in
tuxes and gowns, some in more military-like outfits, and others in the native
Bolivian apparel. The instruments had just as much variety between the bands.
In the midst of trying to take pictures of all of the
sights, I found a seat which seemed to be directly under the sun, and settled
in for the show. First they called all the bands forward and introduced them.
Then the show really got started and the first band came out playing “Oh, When
the Saints.”
The third band to go was Gonzalo’s band. He plays a drum
and is very good! As I watched him play, the director of the orphanage arrived
and sat next to me. It was amazing how much of an impact me just sitting there
watching this performance had on him and Gonzalo. Being there showed that I felt
Gonzalo was important enough to sit in the hot sun for several hours. Although,
I had a lot of work in the field at the orphanage that I could have been doing, it was important to Gonzalo that I see him perform and so I made sure I was
there.
Sometimes just being there is the best thing to do. A lot
of times I think that I have to do something to make an impact but just being
there for your friend, child, brother, sister, or whoever it is, is the most
important and most impactful thing you can do!
