During our third month on the race, my team lived in the Amazon jungle on the river. There are lots of pictures I love from our time there, but this one is by far my favorite.
This is a picture of me and a little girl named Lindsey. I only knew Lindsey for a week, but she will always have a special place in my heart.
Every afternoon my team and I would hop on a boat and head over to one of the villages further up river. We would play with the kids, perform a bible story, and sing a lot of silly songs in Spanish.
Lindsey’s village had this big open field, and after our skit, games, and songs, we usually ended up outside playing soccer. Lindsey would grab my hand and pull me around in the game. We ran and ran and laughed and laughed. We slipped in the mud on days after the rains. We swatted at the sandflies that tried to bite our ankles. We ran in circles as the ball kept getting passed around, never quite fast enough to actually catch it.
And sometimes we simply sat.
We sat and watched the dogs chase around the kids. We sat and laughed as kids tripped over the ball. We sat and cheered when someone scored a goal. We sat and stared in awe at the beautiful sky and powerful river.
And then we got back up and started all over again.
Linsey was the granddaughter of the pastor who lived in this village. She was full of joy, and always had the biggest smile on her face. She was brave, excited to see the snake and sloth the pastor showed us. She was quick, ready to climb any tree to bring us back a fruit. She was loving, giving us hugs every day we went to her village.
Linsey was just a little girl, but she taught me a lot about how to love.
