Sunbeams glisten through the banana tree leaves sending a spray of light on the dropplets of water flying through the air as children giggle with delight from the splashes of water washing their sweaty little faces clean. I'm standing in an irrigation ditch on the far side of the campus with 20 or so kids trying to splash me in the face as I pour buckets of water over them. In this moment, for maybe the first time since I have gotten here, I catch myself pausing and taking it all in: the sun, the refreshing water washing over my feet, and the children's faces filled with pure joy. "Everyone should have an irrigation ditch to play in at home if it makes little and big humans alike this full of joy!" I think to myself. The boys are slinding head first on their tummies down the ditch as the girls suds-up their hair with shampoo as I pour a shower of cool water over their smiling faces to rinse their hair out. What a way to take a bath! "Kengie Teacher, watch me swim!" (In all of the notes I've received, they all spell my name with a "g" instead of a "z".)
God is good. Despite the awful circumstances that brought many of these children to the orphanage, the kids are experiencing something good even still. They are rich, but not in material items. They don't have much to play with such as toys, but watching them spend 30 minutes in a ditch, playing with buckets of water with each other is such a beautiful connection of humans just being, existing, dwelling together. So, today I'm thanking God for irrigation ditches, because I found joy connecting with children in a new and simple way.
No comments:
Post a Comment