We were going to paint the church and meet the villagers. BEST. DAY. EVER. I don't think any of us had a clue when we left that morning what was in store. We arrived and started varnishing the church. A couple of people brought some bubbles and started taking turns blowing them for the kids.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm8C5HiMgsc
It was a beautiful, beautiful day. At one point, we were playing "perro, perro, gato"with them, and I was tapped. I took off running after a little boy and as soon as I hit a slick patch of jungle mud, I hauled off and did a spectacular face-plant right in the muck! The kids thought that was the funniest thing they'd ever seen. Before I knew it, they picked me again, and sure enough, I face-planted again, right in that wet spot! They did it just to see me fall splat! It was so funny! I got wise after awhile, though, and took off my shoes. Those bare-foot kids had an advantage, I'm telling you.
If you saw my previous post about the barefoot pastors, you'll remember how much that touched me. To us, shoes are practically part of our feet. We don't leave the house barefoot, and we have a pair for every occasion. But here they are totally optional. If you look at the feet of the older adults you'll see their toes splayed out wide. They grip better that way, I suppose.
To me, this day was all about connections. We have so much in common. Kids love to play. They love to laugh. Seeing someone go splat in the mud is hilarious. Chasing each other is fun. Half a world away, deep in the jungle, different languages, cultures, clothes and customs, and yet we spent the day together laughing our heads off. Friends, this is heaven. Honest to God, pure unadulterated joy in plenty. Heaven.
Before long, some of the team members started playing mimicking games with the kids, kind of like Simon Says.
These videos really tell the story better than words. We ended up with 50 or so kids!!! It was amazing! I have no idea where they came from, but it was so much FUN!!!
Here Luke is playing a "Simon says" game with them.
Then we played some sharks and minnows. Watch the kid in the brown shirt come flying toward Luke at the end. HAHAHA!
And this one shows how many kids we ended up with. Andy did a great job with them.
It was a beautiful, beautiful day. At one point, we were playing "perro, perro, gato"with them, and I was tapped. I took off running after a little boy and as soon as I hit a slick patch of jungle mud, I hauled off and did a spectacular face-plant right in the muck! The kids thought that was the funniest thing they'd ever seen. Before I knew it, they picked me again, and sure enough, I face-planted again, right in that wet spot! They did it just to see me fall splat! It was so funny! I got wise after awhile, though, and took off my shoes. Those bare-foot kids had an advantage, I'm telling you.
If you saw my previous post about the barefoot pastors, you'll remember how much that touched me. To us, shoes are practically part of our feet. We don't leave the house barefoot, and we have a pair for every occasion. But here they are totally optional. If you look at the feet of the older adults you'll see their toes splayed out wide. They grip better that way, I suppose.
To me, this day was all about connections. We have so much in common. Kids love to play. They love to laugh. Seeing someone go splat in the mud is hilarious. Chasing each other is fun. Half a world away, deep in the jungle, different languages, cultures, clothes and customs, and yet we spent the day together laughing our heads off. Friends, this is heaven. Honest to God, pure unadulterated joy in plenty. Heaven.
