I don’t remember the first time I learned about displaced people groups – probably sometime in high school. Before then I had no idea of the some of the realities of our broken world. When people are no longer safe, they flee.
The reality of people having to flee their homes, countries, & even families in order to save their lives absolutely breaks my heart. I am not even sure where to begin.
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First, I want to acknowledge my many freedoms; it seems like we only think about this a few times a year, perhaps around 4th of July, Christmas, or when we experience a national tragedy.
With freedom comes privilege & often times entitlement – I know I am guilty of this.
Sometimes this privilege is granted simply because there is more or less melanin in a person’s complexion. Sometimes these freedoms include access to clean drinking water coming out of our faucets, having a dryer in our homes, or even having money to pay for the electricity to run a refrigerator to keep things cold & a freezer to make ice cubes {I was telling Eric the other day how much I really do miss iced coffee}.
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Pan de Vida, the ministry we’ve partnered with this month, typically only serves less fortunate families in Quito; however, they have opened their doors to support refugees from Venezuela, who are fleeing their home country because of political unrest. The entire time we were serving & working with these people, I was challenged to imagine putting myself in their shoes. I cannot even fathom being forced to choose between my freedoms and sometimes my life, & leaving everything I’ve ever known.
My team primarily worked with the kiddos, supporting a gal who taught, sung, and led crafts with them. There were at least 50 kids & we were able to serve over 200 refugees. If I am being honest, I think I was surprised to discover that these kids were just typical kids. They wanted to color, talk, & play with you – just like any other kid. The people we served just wanted to be fed. They just wanted to be reminded that they aren’t forgotten nor left behind. They needed to hear that they matter. Wouldn’t you?
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There is one little girl whose story I want to share with you. I don’t know her actual name, in part because names in Spanish are the most difficult for me to understand, & also because she had some speech difficulties due to her Cerebral Palsy. I am going to refer to this little girl as Lacy. Lacy has a heart like no other & so much joy despite her physical challenges. You see, Lacy is a refugee from Venezuela. Her family literally carried her across the border because she can’t walk. Lacy has no wheelchair & unlike the rest of her peers, her feet and lower legs don’t work in the same way, so she is forced to rely on adults to carry her.
When I first met Lacy, I thought of my fiancé, Eric {an occupational therapist}, & how with a few phone calls he could easily provide for this little girl what her parents, country, & wallet could not – a wheelchair.
As we got to color & as the teacher told the story of the blind man, Lacy finished her work & asked if we could read a “librito” {little book}. Unfortunately this wasn’t an option at the time, so we decided to go outside instead 🙂
I carried Lacy downstairs & we sat on a bench watching the other kiddos play on the jungle gym & in the grass. It was obvious we weren’t going to sit for long, I could tell Lacy was thinking up somethin’. I asked: “donde?” {where?}, she pointed to the ground. Slightly confused I lowered her to the ground and she began to crawl away! As I got closer to her she began to laugh & tried to crawl faster; she wanted to play tag!
Of course she wanted to play tag, what 7 year old wouldn’t?! You know what we did for the remainder of that hour? We played crawl-tag in the muddy grass. We even got a couple other kids to join us. Towards the end of the program her dad came to pick her up & she squealed a giddy squeal as her dad began to carry her away. He turned around and brought her closer to me. Lacy nearly jumped into my arms. I think this was her way of saying thank you. I am literally typing this with tears in my eyes. What a simple choice & a small gesture, yet I know in those moments Lacy was reminded how much she mattered.
Kids just want to be kids; even when they have fled from their homes. People just want to be fed; especially when they don’t know where their next meal will come from or whether they will have clean water to drink that day. We all have something inside us that desires more; desires a deeper connection, a way to feel known & understood. I think this human desire can be satisfied by food, attention & people…but it is only temporary. Ultimately we will move onto something else to help satisfy this desire.
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Before I left for the race my good friend Megan & I went out to spend time together & say our “see ya laters.” I shared with her that I was feeling intimidated about the thought of working with kids who look different from me & sharing their stories & photos. The last thing I would want people to think is that I am here to exploit or otherwise draw attention to an already extremely vulnerable population. You know what Megan responded with? She reminded me that Jesus is so much bigger than my thoughts, ideas, or things I’m intimidated by.
She reminded me that Jesus is in the muddy grass playing with the kids, Jesus desires to hold them close, provide food & shelter for their families, & He ultimately desires for them {& us} to spend eternity in a place that is whole, beautiful, & perfect, instead of in this world that is full of destruction, brokenness, & injustices.
Kids just want to be kids & our God just desires for us to be again united with Him. The gospel is so much bigger than muddy grass & a plate of food.
This is why we are here.
I know Christmas & the end of the year is a time many of us spend our time & resources giving to others. I would encourage you to consider giving to Pan de Vida. Literally they are not paying me to promote this ministry, I am sharing this with you because I have experienced first-hand how life-changing this ministry is.
As always thank you for joining me on this incredible journey 🙂
Love,
Maddie
