So I meet a lot of amazing people in Manila and in Tacloban and had lots of amazing experiences. But I want to share about one child in particular.
Her name is Alyssa Mae (sounds like Eliza Mae). She’s pretty amazing. She is kind and generous and always wants to lend a helping hand.
Every Friday night, The Lighthouse has community movie night. And after every community movie night Alyssa Mae would stay to help put the chairs back and pick up any bowls or trash from the snack. She is the only one who did this.
She would also help with construction some days. I would be sweating and thinking about how difficult construction is and hoping it was almost time for break. Then Alyssa Mae would come up and happily shovel sand and gravel to make cement or help us move rocks.
One day she helped peel paint off the ground when we had forgotten to put the premier down first.
And she didn’t just wait until she saw something that needed to be done. She would ask all the time what people were doing and if there was anyway she could help.
So here’s kind of funny story. Once Alyssa Mae told me she never tasted a blueberry and how she wondered how blueberries taste. And I told her how blackberries and better than blueberries.
And I ended up getting her blueberry jam. She was so grateful and excited about. I didn’t realize it would be a big deal. To me it was just jam but to her it meant a lot.
So when I saw this blueberry blackberry juice at the supermarket I felt I had to get it for her. And I was looking forward to seeing her, so I could surprise her with it. And it turned out she had a surprise for me too. She wrote me a sweet, sweet note and gave me a pair of pretty of purple earrings. And she proudly told me she got them herself. I thought I was going to surprise and bless her, but she ended up surprising me and blessing me so much more.
Well I knew the only thing Alyssa Mae really wanted in the world was a skateboard. I really wanted to get her one, but I didn’t know where to go or how much it would cost. One day I was out with a squad mate who was interested in buying a ukulele. I just asked the store worker if she knew where I could buy a skateboard. And she points to the front of the store where there are a few skateboards. And was like ohhh.
Now I had never bought a skateboard before, but I bought one that seemed good and had blue, our favorite color, on it.
After I bought it, I was so psyched to give it to her, but I knew I needed to wait until all the kids left after movie night. Then after we helped clean up, I told her I had a gift for her. I had her wait by the side of the house while I went in to grab it.
She was blown away. And she loved the blue on it. She rode it a little bit. It was a great night.
And then what happens. She ends up blessing me and teaching again, this time without even trying. So all she wanted was skateboard. Now she had a skateboard of her very own. You might think she would what to ride it every chance she got. But instead she decides to share the thing she wanted most with other kids, so they could enjoy it also.
Even though Alyssa Mae is years younger than me, she set an example for me. She taught me a lot about serving and helping and giving with joy and happiness. She showed me how to not just go out of my way to help when I know what’s needed, but to take it a step further by going out of my way to find out what’s needed.
I will never forget her or what she’s taught me.
And I really hope I get to see her again.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to share a story about how someone unexpectedly blessed you or taught you in the comments!
Much love!
~grace
