Raindrops and Tiny Humans
"Teacher, you're going to get sick!” Translated from Spanish, that is what Rodrigo, one of the teenagers I had been taking care of, said to me as I stood in the pouring rain in my church clothes. Mayanne and I had been with the kids in the house just after church one Sabbath when it began to absolutely pour rain. I'm not exaggerating. There was so much water coming from the sky that we could barely hear each other over the sound of rain pounding down on the tin roof of the Harding House. I turned to Mayanne and asked if she wanted to go stand in the rain with me, it had been so hot lately that it only seemed like the right thing to do. Most of our boys looked at us like we were crazy, but our nine-year-old, Alajandro, followed us as we ran out into the rain. Despite being soaked to the bone, Alajandro, Mayanne, and I danced around and stomped in mud puddles. Even as I was standing in a puddle of water on the tile in my wet church clothes, I had zero regrets.
I wanted to start a blog when I first got to Familia Feliz. I thought, “after the first week, I will make time to start writing." Oh boy was I wrong. I knew I was going to be busy, but I seriously underestimated how crazy things were going to be. As of today, I have been at Familia Feliz for just over a month. Minha (the SM I came with) and I agreed that it both feels like we've been here for much longer, and somehow also feels like we just got here. Either way, it's hard to believe it has been a month. So much has happened, and there is so much to share, but I should start with explaining exactly what Familia Feliz is.
Familia Feliz is a non-profit, Christ-Centered boarding school that provides a safe haven for orphaned, abused, and neglected children in rural Bolivia. Every single one of these kids comes from difficult situations and have found at least a temporary home and family here. For the past 16 years, Familia Feliz has served and been a refuge for these children of Bolivia.
So, what am I doing here at Familia Feliz? Great question! I do whatever is needed of me. For the past month, I have been helping out in the Harding House. I haven't been by myself, I joined Mayanne (a recent graduate from Southern that came to Familia Feliz out of her own pocket), who had been here about three weeks by the time I arrived. She and I were in the Harding House together for another three weeks before she headed back home to prepare for her next mission trip (shoutout to Mayanne - we love her dearly). In the Harding House, there are about twenty people from age six months old to adults. Most of the kids living in the house are adopted by Melissa Harding, the founder of Familia Feliz and a true inspiration. For about two week I mainly helped watch over the littles of the house. This includes twin six-month-olds, a one-year-old, and three others who aren't quite old enough for school yet. I helped with the other kids as well, but the littles were my focus. The next week and a half or so, the Hardings stayed at their other house down the street, so Mayanne and I (with the help of one of the Bolivian volunteers, Raul) had six boys: the one-year-old, one of the kids who isn't old enough for school yet, three elementary and middle school aged, and a teenager. I am so grateful for the time I spent with those boys, they were so much fun, and I'd do it all over again if I could.
I have given so many cold outdoor sink showers to screaming toddlers (that is just the reality here), woke up several times at night to sooth a crying baby, spent hours holding crying children, been puked on several times, been peed on, cleaned pee off the floor, have had my clothes used as a tissues, made so many bottles, and changed an endless amount of diapers. I am not going to lie to you. My time here has not been easy, and I have struggled. For a while it seemed like every day I was overwhelmed, stressed, and exhaused. I was sick with a head cold for three weeks, and still taking care of kids. I wanted to give up. Depending on the location, this is a fairly normal experience for Student Missionaries. God pulled me through that transitional period, and now I love it here. I have been the recipient of many hugs from these kids, shared so much laughter with the children and with Mayanne, witnessed so much silliness, watched the children play with the twins, experienced the twins' laughter, and have held sleeping babies and toddlers. It's all worth it when they fall asleep in your arms. The peacefulness of a sleeping child is unmatched. It is then that the gratefulness to God for this tiny human and the opportunity to know them is the most obvious. Mayanne and I discussed how because these kids are so young, they won't remember us. They won't remember when we put down the dishes we were cleaning to pick them up while they were crying. They won't remember us spoon feeding them because they haven't really figured out how to use a spoon yet. They won't remember the uncontrollable giggles when we played with them. They won't remember the tickles, the cuddles, or the hugs. However, they will have had someone to show them love. The effort that we put into these kids now will manifest in their development later in life. Kids need love. People need love. And even though our time with them is temporary, we are going to do everything we can so that these kids can be safe and feel loved. Even if that means I have to change a million more diapers.
I think that rainy Sabbath day was the turning point for me. I had been so focused on being homesick and stressed in a brand-new environment with so many new responsibilities and new people that I had forgotten to find the joy in being in a brand-new environment with so many new responsibilities and new people. God had called me out into the rain that day, He knew that I needed to feel each of those raindrops on my skin and He knew that I needed to stomp in mud puddles with Alajandro like I was a child again. I am currently reading through the book of Psalms (thanks to The Bible Project on YouTube, I have learned so much about Psalms). These 150 poems were organized intentionally to deliver a few specific messages. One of these messages has to do with lament and praise. If you read through the entire book of Psalms, you will find that each poem is either of lament or of praise. The poet is either writing of the evil in the world and begging God to do something about it, or praising God for all that He is. What is so interesting about the way that these poems are organized is that throughout the book, the content shifts from mostly poems of lament with a few praise poems to mostly praise poems with a few poems of lament. This tells us three very important lessons: The first is that lament is a very real and appropriate way to respond to the sin we see in our world. The second is that we should not ignore the pain in our lives. And the third, and my favorite, is that Biblical faith is forward looking. At times, we can feel as though the rain is pounding on the roof so much that we can't hear ourselves think. Maybe the responsibility of soothing a crying baby feels overwhelming, or we've changed so many diapers that we feel as though we can't go on. There is more to this life. The rain quenches the thirst of the beautiful plants around us. That crying baby will also laugh. Having faith in our Lord means we recognize the struggle but also see the joy in raindrops and tiny humans.
Dear Lord
I thank you for all that you have given us and the sacrifice you made to forgive our sins. I pray for the reader, wherever they are. I thank you for their unique light that you have given them. Let the reader recognize the struggle they see in their lives and give it to you. I pray that the reader will look to you Lord and all the beautiful things you have put in their path. Please help us to be more like you. We love you and can't wait to see you soon. In Jesus's name,
Amen.
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