Blessed

Today we had a church come and run the day's activities. It is so nice on the days we have other churches in charge of the programming (first, because it's less time thinking about the schedule and more time just enjoying the kids, and second because it's wonderful to see the impact the adults have on the kids, and even more so, the impact the children have on the adults that come to visit).

Watching the adults and teenagers from Harmony UMC interact with our kids throughout the day was such a joy. First, to see a group of people who went out of their way to plan fun, exciting activities for our kids, and then also to see the presence of the children bring those activities to life in ways you can't plan or prepare for.

I was a group leader for three of our smallest girls, and as I took them around from station to station, from craft to craft, we met new people, learned new things, and laughed and giggled and got excited about the things around us and the new people who had come to spend the day with us-- it was quite a blessing.

Though, my favorite part, by far, was at the end of the day, when we'd all settled down and our new friends were packing up their things and getting ready to leave. The kids bombarded everyone with hugs and the volunteers from Harmony couldn't stop expressing how touched THEY were to have spent the day with our kids. It just reinforces what I've been learning over and over this summer: you can't leave ministry unmarked, unchanged, untouched. Ministry always has an impact on you because it always puts you face to face with the Living God, and who can be unchanged by that?!

I guess that's why I, like the volunteers from today, feel so incredibly blessed to have been given the opportunity to serve at Amor y Paz this summer. It is so hard to believe that things are winding down, and that in less than two weeks I'll be boarding a plane back to New York, but I know when the time does come for me to say goodbye, that my experiences here will have changed me forever. I will forever feel a close connection with the Spanish language, the Hispanic culture, will forever view immigration issues with the stories of my friends here in mind, will forever have taste buds that only appreciate authentic, homemade tortillas, will forever try to view situations with the eyes of children, will forever try to laugh and find joy in any situation I can, will forever have a greater understanding of the width and depth of the Body of Christ, will forever be grateful for the things I've so often take for granted, but now realize are blessings, and not just a given in growing up (things like food, beds, tennis shoes, bathing suits..), and I will forever have a mentor, a second mom in Pastora Martha, who I have come to admire, and respect, and love.

What a blessing ministry truly is. :)