El Buen Samaritano/Samaritan's Purse

So, we went to Las Fuentes on Saturday. Las Fuentes is a little community where Cailah will be working with the church. The little church there seems vibrant and holistic, the pastor is humble and being used incredibly by the Lord--everything from new roads to miraculous healings--but that's another story.

Saturday, we were invited to join them for a kids party as they passed out 100+ shoe boxes from Samaritan's Purse--you know, the ones you've perhaps filled and sent at Christmas time for children in less fortunate countries. . .Let me make a couple of initial observations: 1. It is way past Christmas, but that didn't seem to matter (they passed some out then, too, as I understand; these were leftovers, or something). 2. The variety of what is put in those boxes is amazing--I encourage you to fill them well, if at all. 3. The "Boys 10-14 Years" category is the least popular to buy for, so I recommend that you please choose that group and let everyone else buy all the cute preschool girl stuff--because it was the only group for which there were more children than boxes. However, I will say that they worked it out and everybody shared.

That said, they had clowns that gave a message about our worth b/c God made us, a puppet show about being kind, a couple of go-up-in-front-of-the-crowd games (which Olivia participated in!), and hot dogs.

From Las Fuentes

Then they did the box giveaway, by gender and age. Girls 2-4 were called first. I have a daughter who is 4. Can you see where this is going? I had no idea how to navigate this. I had told Olivia that the boxes were going to be for the kids at the church and that I didn't know if she'd get one b/c there might not be enough. Pastor Gilbert had said when he invited us that they'd have a box for Olivia and Sawyer as well, which we politely said wasn't necessary. But, really, how do you explain to a 4 and a 2 year old that everyone else gets a box, but not them? Was I supposed to say that these kids were "poor" and that's why they got a box? Was I going to tell mine that they were NOT poor, that they already had lots of toys, that their grandparents had just come from the states and so they already had LOTS more things than they needed? I could have, and some of you might think I SHOULD have. And we will. We have in other contexts. Olivia understands that some people have less things than she does, that some people don't eat food every day. But this is what stopped me from insisting that my children not get shoe boxes on Saturday: Olivia and (especially) Sawyer have no idea that they are different than the kids in Las Fuentes, other than being blond, and that they speak English better than Spanish. WHY WOULD I RUIN THAT??? Why would I draw one more line in the sand separating my kids from these kids? Why highlight for the Las Fuentes Kids more differences than necessary? In the end I figured it was better to not make a big deal and to just let my kids be part of the group. In an ideal world, that's how it would be. In an ideal world there wouldn't be a reason for the Las Fuentes Kids to receive shoe boxes from the US. I figured their innocence will be lost soon enough.

So, if you happen to be someone who sends those shoe boxes, thank you, and if you are offended, I'm sorry; I'm sure situations like Saturday don't happen often. And if our presence in the community makes a difference at all (thinking long-term), then I hope you'll see those 2 shoe boxes as a worthy sacrifice. If it makes you feel better, we shared most of Sawyer's box, because boxes for the 5-9 Boys group were a little scarce, too. I welcome all comments on what others would have done in this situation, by the way!! :)

From Las Fuentes

Aiyla, watching girls open their boxes

All in all, it was a fun, albeit somewhat awkward (for me), morning. We love the things that God is doing in that Las Fuentes and are excited to be a part of it. Please pray for Cailah when you think of it, as she begins a ministry site alongside Pastor Gilbert, Pastora Araceli and their daughter, Madeline. Some of the possibilities include English classes, visiting the sick and elderly, computer classes, and children and youth programs.

From Las Fuentes

Cailah with Pastor Gilbert and daughter, Madeline