Universal Language

As we are planning to do our travels through Guatemala this upcoming week I am stuck in time.  Yesterday I felt a little bit like I was a rap superstar in an “I am lifting up the place I came from… Tu Pac meets Michael Jacksons Heal the world video.”  We met for girl’s night last night and where met by one young lady, Marion.  We have seen a disinterest from our girls because of what should I call it…Girl Drama.  We have been bombarded with comments like… ‘I’m not coming because of her.’ We are also hearing a lot of “She said this to me and I am not going to be friends with her.”  What can I say, girls are all the same all over the world, caddy drama is a universal language! I can guarantee you that if you travel anywhere in the world and jump into a kitchen filled with women you will find “Can you believe that woman.  What in the world was she doing with that boy” and on and on and on.

But anyways, we have had the challenge of trying to show these young girls in three short weeks how to respond to one another’s passive aggressive blows and their fights for our attention.  What can I say; it’s a hard challenge to accept. Yesterday we took a different approach and left the church and walked through the neighborhood of French Harbor.  Our group turned from one within the church walls to five immediately upon our exit into the open air.  We continued our walk and were greeted by a swarm of children being released from school.  All approached us as if we were a giant ball of cotton candy they wanted a piece of.    The children dressed in their school uniforms looking like one large body coming towards us with eyes of curiosity and wonder.  Some knew of us from brothers and sisters or from seeing us throughout the neighborhood, but their interest was amazing.  We passed the community basketball court which is used for almost every sport and were joined by some of the boys from Tuesday and Thursday mentoring. They followed closely with soccer balls and bicycles.  We were a small mob of folks walking the French Harbor loop.  Something these children do every day and so graciously invited us to be a part of. 

As we continued to walk together as one unit just sharing time with one another and walking through their community, their stomping grounds, we found a certain sense of genuineness.  We were in their house, they had the home court advantage and we were just along for the ride.  It was a new experience, a beautiful one that reminded me of the saying “There’s no place like Home!” Hospitality is a universal language; we just have to open our ears and hearts to make sure to be on the receiving end at the right time! Be available to receive the love and hospitality of the community around you, it’s there…we just have to meet it where it is.