I’m sure many of you have felt at one point in your life the strange feeling of crying for joy. It’s one of those oxymoron type feelings where many people associate crying with sadness but joy with happiness. This is basically how I felt two weeks ago when I journeyed back to my home at El Rancho Paraiso in Honduras, an overflow of happiness and joy. Now I’m not saying I was on the verge of tearing up the entire trip, but all week I could feel the joy boiling inside me and exploding through smiles, laughs, soccer, and songs.
“The Ranch”, as us gringos like to call it, is a little farm about a five hour bumpy bus ride away from the capital city of Honduras, Tegucigalpa. I began my travels to the Ranch six years ago at age 13, and I have returned for six consecutive trips ever since. Over these six years, I have made friends with the staff, who refer to me as “Ana” and ask “Vas a jugar fútbol?” (Are you going to play soccer?). Also, I have made many friends in the four different villages I have had the pleasure to work with throughout the years. Most of these friends are under the age of 12 and have more energy than my golden retriever at home, Samson. These niños are my heart and my joy though.
So, now I am telling you about the part of the trip that still, while I am typing this, brings a smile to my face. The children of Honduras have captured my heart like no other. They are each small bundles of happiness that overflow with so much love for God, their family, their friends, and me-the young blonde-haired gringa. Looking into the one roomed school house and seeing 40 little faces light up with big grins, is one of the most amazing sights. Being dragged to pass the deflated soccer ball during the 10 minute snack break between bible lessons, rejuvenates everyone’s heartbeats and laughs. Playing the ukulele and singing a song from VBS that have absolutely no musical correlation at all, builds a bridge from one voice to the next. Hearing the word “gracias” (thank you) come from each little mouth when passing out the next craft, makes you appreciate a feeling of gratitude and respect. Running around in the sunny morning heat playing freeze tag, where every child, a tagger or not, runs after the gringos, reminds you that they all just want to be loved by you from the moment you get there to the moment you say goodbye. These are just a few moments where you can’t help but smile and say, “God thank your for creating such beautiful people and allowing me to be a part of their lives.”
Now that you all have gotten a little glimpse of the children that I have fallen in love with, let me tell you about the moment when I actually cried because of the overwhelming joy. Each Wednesday morning before heading out to our village, the groups for that week get to visit the Ranch’s elementary and middle schools. Their school is the best in the area providing sponsors for the children, a middle school, a computer lab, and a reliable teaching staff. These are all pieces that most schools in the valley lack. This visit to the school allows the families who sponsor a child to see them, while the rest of the group gets to learn more about the school’s importance.
As we all settle down in the outdoor auditorium for the usual talk, they parade in the first grade class to open us up with a song presentation. To my pleasant surprise, the last student in the row of first graders is one of my students from the school in the previous year’s village. Immediately my smile grew from a solid “aw look at these cute kids” to a Chester the cat, full faced smile. The best part was that he remembered me, because he returned a smile just as big. After they finished singing and went back to their classroom, the groups said hello to the other grades of students. As I walk by all the classrooms, I see five more students from the village last year enrolled in the Ranch’s school. On a personal level, I was so happy to see them again, but on a life importance level, this was a huge deal for each child. Let it sink in… these students are fortunate enough to 1. have a sponsor 2. have teachers who won’t go on strike 3. have the opportunity to go to middle school 4. then most likely, have a chance to go to high school (which is so difficult and rare) 5. get to learn a little English 6. make friends who want the same things and 7. get to understand more about God. All of this meaning, their futures are already brighter than when I taught them how to do a puzzle back in their village school. With all of these ideas just running through my mind, we get back to the 1st grade class and my little boy runs to me to give me the biggest hug. At that moment, I was overwhelmed by the joy of knowing that this child of God was going to have the opportunity to do do big things in his life and maybe be able to rise above an average life of beans and rice for every meal. Understanding all of these things, the tears began to well up in my eyes, but the smile on my face just kept growing bigger.
God is such a wonderful God that is full of joy and opportunity. These little moments help remind me why I am sent to walk through little bits of life with these people. I can’t wait to start on the World Race because it will give me the opportunity to meet and touch new people all over the world, and that is so exciting. I get to meet and love more kids than I have already! I hope that through me, each and every one of you can catch a glimpse of this overwhelming joy that God can ignite in so many people’s lives.
