Saying goodbye to Bolivia was excruciating. For the first time in my life I could feel my heart break, I could physically not bare the pain. Outside the gate I stood hidden behind a part of the wall bent over because I couldn't hold myself up, it was real, we were leaving these girls behind.
During my time in Talita I worked beside Benita, Casey and TJ who are all part of team Alegria. I loved getting closer to them and working beside them. Together God used us to do amazing things in Talita. Casey, who is an aesthetician back home had the amazing idea to have a spa day for the girls. So, one Sunday afternoon after church we set stations and assigned each one of us a station to pamper the girls with. Benita had the Hair station where she braided each girls hair to keep it off their face, Casey had a Facial station that included a facial massage, mask and cucumbers for their eyes, as the facials were being given TJ was giving the girls hand massages in her Hand Message station, and to finish it all off the girls would stop by the Nails stations where they had all sorts of nail polishes to chose from and I would paint their nails. The day was full of laughter, relaxation, girl talk and love. We just wanted to pamper the girls and make them feel special.
On another occasion we were sanding doors for hours when I told Casey, TJ and Benita that I had never had a quinciañera. The conversation when from throwing me a quinciañera party to having one for us 4 and then God evolved into a coronation for the girls. The news of a coronation day spread quickly and hermana Theresa approached me to ask if she could help by decorating the dining room for the coronation. We spent an entire day making paper crowns with construction paper and glitter, writing the girls individual cards with Bible verses God was giving us for them and preparing our coronation ceremony speech. We asked the girls to wear their absolute best and wait for us upstairs, they were not allowed to go downstairs, it was a surprise. Nothing could have prepared me for the amazing ball room I would be stepping into that day. Hermana Theresa had prepared a special chair for each one of the girls, decorated them with paper flowers and set the dinning room area perfectly for what God was going to do. After setting a table up for the crowns and a chair at the front of the room we invited all the girls in. As they came down the stairs we applauded them into the coronation room and watched as their facial expressions changed when they walked into the room. They sat down in their chairs and heard us out as we explained that they were going to be coronated that day. We talked to them about their identity in Christ and who He called them to be, tears filled their eyes and everyone in that room could feel God move and freedom rain. We called each individual girl up to the chair at the front of the room, prayed over them, spoke truth into their lives, crown them and present them as Princess so and so. We gave them a bouchet of flowers, a gift and an encouraging card.
These event were simple, but God filled.
The last day in Talita was full of revelation and a serious of eye opening testimonies from the girls. Our last lunch together was amazing!!! We had good food and we were eating on the good china, no plastic this time only glass plates and bowls. After we finished eating each one of the girls shared with us 4 their prospective about the month.
They told us about the lives they had lived outside the house, a life of very little affection from anyone, a life full of rejection and most of all a life full of unanswered questions. One after another they explained that for many of them we were the first ones to ever comb their hair or touch their faces. We were the first to ever look them in the eyes and tell them they were Princesses because their dad was the King and nothing they did or could do, no matter where they had been or where they were now, they were called HIS.
It broke me in every way possible that beautiful Belen had never had a mom to comb her hair at night before going to bed. It broke me to think that Isabell's parents had passed away when she was only a baby and her siblings called her a failure all her life when really they should have called her princess. It hurt to think that Beatriz who gives the best hugs and wettest of kisses had abusive parents that never hugged her.
For this month we ware the soft hands caressing a young girls face, we were the voice speaking truth, we were the arms that hugged them when they were sad and we were the voice of reason when it was necessary. We were God's hands and feet. I cried that afternoon because I couldn't believe God had chosen me, had used me, had turned my jokes into life changing events. I bent over in pain because it took me 22 years to realize that it is as simple as loving and caring for one person at a time to bring Kingdom to earth. The gratitude in my body was so much I couldn't stand still. It hurt to love that much and I want to hurt for love everyday of my life.
Love to the fullest! Allow God to use your ideas to be glorified. How can you be a blessing to others, what skill do you have that can bless someone. What truth can you speak over someone that will change their lives. Where does God want to use you. Who will you bless next?
