Rain

Day 4
Rain. Today I woke up, expecting the 5:15 greeting, but instead it was thankfully closer to 6:15 today. I once again was given a good-natured kidding from all the men in the room because they knew I’d be the last one to get out of bed. One of them actually offered to bring my lunch bag to me in bed. I told him he was too kind. After showering, I became aware of the rain that was coming down outside. Not in a downpour, but just enough rain to be obnoxious. Breakfast was similar to the first day, and we ended by praying in a great circle, holding hands. I really only knew two people before this trip began and as we prayed, connected spiritually and physically, I grew closer to this group that had once been strangers.

As a group we were worried we wouldn’t be able to set up for our evangelism ministry with the kids and their families today. God worked it out in the end though, and provided a carport for us to set up underneath. We drove the 25 minutes or so (and made two stops along the way in an attempt to find ponchos) and made it to our destination. We started the day off the same way as Monday. We walked around and passed out fliers and spoke to some of the families. There were nowhere near as many dogs today though. Thank goodness. (If I didn’t put this for yesterday, there were probably at least 2 dogs to every house that we visited and they walked the streets in large numbers.) My Spanish also improved today. I learned that by asking them if they spoke English first, and then informing them that I only spoke a small amount of Spanish, they were much more forgiving of my errors (they wouldn’t laugh at me either).
At one house we visited, we met a dog that barked her lungs out at us, but then the family came out and from inside the fenced area we invited them to our “mission.” The 5 kids came with us, and the dog came along as an escort, and was more than happy to trot alongside us silently. It was funny how the tables flipped so quickly. In this group of kids was a little boy named Martin. He was a hoot.
Today because of the rain, we didn’t have to wash feet, but we were still handing out shoes, toys, health packs, coloring books, purses, and everything else under the sun. The kids were so happy. I remember one little girl asking: “Is this free?! Do we have to pay for this?! This is free too?!” She was so excited and it was amazing to see the smile on her face grow larger and larger. One of the little boys we saw had a huge jean jacket on and a flannel shirt on underneath it. There were several children walking around in the cold, wet weather with no shoes on their feet. I wish I could’ve helped somehow. We ran out of small shoes, and had nothing to give them.
At one point during the day, several others and I went into the house we had setup at to use the bathroom. The floor was covered in dirt, it was very shaky, the front door was a screen door with no screen, and the carpet was a floor mat for children. I once again, have realized how blessed I am, and have seen a level of poverty that doesn’t compare with areas twenty miles further south across the border.

As the day ended, I worked with the crafts table, translating what little I was able to and handing out shoe boxes. I was also the “trash man” according to Martin. I was picking up trash in the area that we were working, and he labeled me as the trash man, and he also helped me out a lot. Today, Martin also accepted Christ and I am so excited for the day that I’ll be able to see him again, whether on this side, or on eternity’s side. 
There also was a young girl getting her face painted who was adorable and I believe she knew it. She had stunning eyes, and she was a ham for the camera. And there were a few kids that I would show pictures of them, and they would smile, or blush, or giggle and run off. They were very innocent and not anything like the kids I’ve seen in other areas of the U.S. Finally, here is the thing that made my day. There was a young girl, who was about 8 or 9 years old and who was shivering ridiculously. Olivia and I kept asking her to take my extra jacket that I had. I finally left and told Olivia to ask her, because she would never take my jacket from me since I was a boy. I turned around after walking around about 30 seconds later and she had my jacket on and the shivering was subsiding. I was so happy that she took it. It made my day.
The night was rather uneventful. I played basketball with a few of the people from our trip and relaxed in the sun once it had come out from behind the clouds. Later on in the night we made a Dairy Queen trip that took much longer than expected, and when we got back we were all so tired that we went to bed. Before going to sleep though, I was able to take a recording of all the men snoring in our dorm. Life is good. God is better.
-Matthew 25:35-40
-“‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’”