Little Eloisa shuffles down the dirt road. The sun is high in the sky, heating everything not shielded by some shade. As she walks towards me, the first thing I notice is her feet…or should I say blue and green plastic bags. Makeshift shoes to protect her tiny feet from the burning ground. Clever. Her older sister has one foot fitted with a bag, but her other foot is fortunate. It is adorned with a blue, tattered sandal.
Eloisa is my favorite little girl from the barrio. I cannot help it. Every time I see her, great joy wells up from deep down in my heart and emerges as a huge smile. I scoop her up into my arms. “Abrazo (hug), Abrazo,” I yell. The love is mutual. The moment she spots me walking through the barrio, she flips out and literally starts to shake. She pulls her hands up towards her face, her large, beautiful, brown eyes get even bigger, she grits her teeth, smiles, and runs in place for awhile before her legs carry her tiny frame into my arms.
The other day she shared her sucker with me…today it was her strawberry cookies. She had two and she gave me one. She gave me half of what she had. What would it look like if I gave half of what I had to her, I thought to myself. She wouldn’t know what to do with it. Cookies galore…for her, half of what I have would be an over abundance.
During church I hold her as we sing. She lays her head on my shoulder and we sway back and forth with the music. Her gum falls from her mouth and lands on the dusty, cement tile. She hops down, picks it up with her grubby hands (that I’m sure have not been washed in days), examines it while rolling it around in her fingers and pops it back in her mouth. Yummy! The day old gum is probably keeping away hunger pains…or a welcomed treat between beans and rice.
While I am sure her tummy grumbles for some food, Eloisa is hungry for attention. In fact, she is quite jealous of my affection. If she sees another kid sit on my lap, she keeps careful watch over me. This may include trying to sit on my lap alongside the other kid, or grabbing my attention in some other fashion. Eloisa is one of hundreds of starved kids in our barrios. Many are just one more mouth to feed. A family of 10 or more is common. Unfortunately, a family without a father figure is even more abundant. This is a fatherless society. The mom runs the show – and truthfully, it’s a pretty difficult show to produce. It does not leave much of an opportunity for “mother-daughter time”.
I’m not holding back any abrazos. It just so happens that Eloisa is probably the number one recipient of my hugs. When I see her chocolate eyes twinkle with excitement, my arms shoot out and embrace her desire to be held. As she melts into my body, our hearts also melt into one – our Father´s.
