What if you made a living from begging people at the Costa Rica- Panama border for money and shining shoes for a few cents? What if you did this to provide money for your family and food for the table? What if you did this and you were only 8 years old learning to fin for yourself? What if you had Americans pass through the border every day, but they never paid any attention to you, would you love us? What if you didn’t know who Jesus was, but you were about to hear about him, and his love for you? Can you imagine being in his shoes, living like her does?
His name is Wilber, he is about 8 years old and goes to the border every day to ask people crossing and in buses for money, he shines shoes of the locals, and tourists for a couple nickels. He will dig through the trash without any problem, and all his friends are also beggars. I am sure your thinking, yeah that sounds normal for a third world country kid, but his story isn’t. 
On Sunday December 19, myself and two other girls from my team went to get more kids for church, we went to the border where we ran into Wilber. Wilber had been to church the few times that it has been open since we started it. We invited him to the church and asked him where the rest of his amigos were. He took us all around the border area, getting his friends to come old and young even a military guy working at the border. A few followed us and as we were walking back to the church Wilber grabbed my arm and told me something really fast in Spanish and walked into a store, I couldn’t understand him so I figured he was getting more friends and we waited for him.
He came out with three popsicles and my heart broke, this boy who has no money, who has to beg people for money, spent all he had to buy three silly Americans, popsicles. I was convicted and mentioned to a teammate how this really hit me, because he had nothing, but gave us everything he had. And what do I give him.. nothing, I don’t give him money I don’t give him food, but I do give him love.
I can give him the love of Jesus, I pour my heart, love and time out on this kid and he sees it, but even better I 
didn’t realize it until that night but I provide this kid with something bigger than any gift, money, or food you could ever eat, I give this kid a chance for eternal life! I could be seeing this kid again in heaven after I leave, that I don’t have to say good bye because God is doing works in this kid.
I didn’t tell this kid to go and spend all he had to buy us popsicles, to leave his shoe shinning job so others can make his money that he could have earned, or to stop begging, or to come and play with us, he decided to all on his own. But it wasn’t just him; obviously this kid saw something different in the Americans who were in town now compared to the ones who cross the border daily. That God was speaking to this kid and he was listening. The Holy Spirit was telling this kid to love us in a childlike way, to give all he had because God is seeing what he is doing.
God sees that this kid is giving everything he has for us, and pouring his love out on us. God is a God who 
provides and he will provide him with even more, he sees that he has nothing, but God won’t let him go hungry because his acts of obedience and love. God will give him even more, food, money, love, and eternal life.
When we were praying, he came up to me looked at me and put his hand on me making sure that it was ok to pray as well. He has come to church every day and left the border, and when we were leaving he didn’t want to leave. God is starting to do a marvelous work in this kid, he is beginning to change. He is seeing and feeling God. This is a kid who will change border crossings, his family, and the town of Guabito forever. This is a kid who is teaching more than I feel like I am teaching him and makes me want to pour out even more love on him and all the other people here. These kids could be the generation to change the world.
