This month we were working in a school called Morning Glory!
When we first arrived our ministry was slow. It was Independence day in a week and they celebrate all the way up to it! This consisted of no real classes at school and participating in town parades, dance competitions and dance shows/productions. The first week here we were put into the “dance mom” role. We were marching in the parades with the school, helping put together dance routines, making bow ties and assisting with costumes. We were asked to help get the kids ready, do their hair, and untimatly be their all time cheerleaders..front row, encouraging them and loving every second of it! I’ll be honest we stepped into the role quit well.
We loved watching these kids thrive. The concept of the dancers was to let every child shine. To be confident in their skin and be who they are. They were all so talented. for all of their dances they put together a great performance based off of The Greatest Showman!
We love the Greatest Showman! Through their dance routines they told a beautiful story of how to be proud of who you are! The kids worked so hard and did an amazing job! The day after the dance competition with the local schools, we went to talk with our host who is the director of the school! She is a marvelous women who has been living in Guatemala for over 30 years. She works hard everyday to provide a positive, encouraging and hopeful outlook on life for these kiddos. We were talking to her about the competition when she started to tell us the struggles she has faced with the other schools.
We noticed that the older kids didn’t have many competitors like the little ones. Laurie ended up telling us that it’s because some of the other schools refuse to compete because morning glory always wins…. they think it’s unfair and useless to try because they have more resources. You could tell how hurt she was by these assumptions. She told us how it has nothing to do with money and resources But solely because she tries. She tries really hard to push the kids to not do better than the competition but to do better than themselves. “You did good last year, your going to do better this year!” She strives for progress and to highlight potential in each child!
Her staff are encouraged to do the same. They are fighters for these kids, and show their love and hope for these kids everyday by pushing them to do better and be better. And not just for themselves. Something she always says to them is “Make God Smile Today!”
That’s what it is! It’s not that they are better than the others, it’s their heart behind it all. Jesus is the underlining resource! He’s the top cheerleader, dance mom and teacher! These kids carry the Lord in their hearts everyday, which is demonstrated to them from Laurie and her school staff and volunteers.
What a cool way to look at the day ahead of you. Whether it’s Monday and your having trouble getting out of bed. Or you had a rough week/day/month or year. Your hearts been broken or you feel like your on top of the world !
What can you do to make God Smile today!?
What can you do to demonstrate your love for the Lord so that when people see you, they see Him? What can you do to be a positive influence on someone’s life who might not have hope or believe in themselves enough to push through the hard days?
I challenge you, to go out today and however you see fit, you Make God Smile!
