Monday(Sept. 29th) was the last day of ministry for my team. It ended up being a half day, where we only returned to the ministry site after our lunch for a few minutes to say our goodbyes and then we were ushered out the door, marking the end of our month one ministry. With most of the day still open, myself and two other team members (Ben and David) went to an internet cafe.
We had been sitting at a table in the middle of the cafe fixated on our various electronic devices, snacking on fries and sipping coffee, when a small local boy entered the cafe and began asking all the patrons for money. By this point David had moved to a separate table close to an outlet and Ben had eaten his fill of burritos and fries. The boy circled around to the table Ben and I were occupying two or three times to ask us for money. A number of time we said “sorry, but no” and the boy began to walk out of the cafe, defeated, when Ben called him back to the table.
Ben instructed the kid to sit, he slid the huge plate of fries in front of the boy, and poured him a glass of pepsi. The smile of the boy stretched from ear to ear as he began to devourer the food and pop. Ben retreated behind his computer as I began to talk to the boy: he was eight, his name was Mano, he was fascinated with the fact we were from the U.S., and was amazed when he found out we traveled to Guatemala by plane.
After Mano had downed his pepsi and as many fries as he could handle, I wrapped up the leftover fries in a napkin, put a band-aide on a huge cut on his finger, and we bid him farewell. He skipped backwards out of the cafe, keeping his eyes glued on us. waving as he left with the leftover fries, a fully belly, and happy heart.
Why did this impact me so much? What was it about the boy or Ben’s actions that affected me so? Rewind to a question, asked not an hour before the incident. I had seen beggar after beggar in my time in Guatemala, asking for money, food, clothes, anything, and I was conflicted every time I encountered them. Naively, I had asked Ben “how do you know who to give to and who not”, when do you give and when do you withhold? His answer… he didn’t know, normally he didn’t give money, but sometimes it was different. A vague answer to say the least, but his actions in the following hour gave me some clarification.
You can’t always give. You can’t always make everything better. And you can’t always tell who truly needs help and who is putting on a show. However, you can always give grace. You can always spare a few fries to a hungry boy in a cafe. You can always attempt to bring a smile to someone’s face. And you can always ALWAYS spread Christ’s love.
And after all, isn’t that what it’s all about in the first place?
