Wow. I look at this screen and cannot choose from the hundreds of stories I could share with you: Stories of friendship, of laughter, of guilt, of compassion, but mostly stories of growth. There are the usual stories of laughter and friendship that can only come from trips like these where you’re forced to see people at their worst and except them for it but right now, I want to share a more personal struggle that has more recently become a triumph. Although God has gifted me with spiritual gifts such as leadership and diligence, I’ve never been one for doing the whole “kid” thing. I’ve never really enjoyed working in the nurseries and I find it really difficult to relate to kids on a personal level. I knew coming into this trip that this particular struggle of mine might hinder the work of God through relating to the kids of the families we would be building for. The past two days were as expected when it came to the families. I introduced myself, and then continued to work my hardest at building the house and encouraging our crew, but never really connecting with any of the families. Up until today, all of the kids had been ten or younger, which made it hard for me to talk to them, especially considering the language barrier. But today, today I got to have that connection I had seen others make with the kids during the week. I didn’t know how much I craved that relationship until God blessed me with a fourteen year old friend named Dolce. It happened so naturally that I didn’t even realize the bond we had formed until much later in the day. It started out simply because I came upon her and her brothers playing with one of our saws. At first I was completely freaked out and worried for their safety and my first reaction was to take it away from them. But upon watching the fun they were having just by messing around with this simple tool, I decided to take a different approach. I did indeed take the saw, but instead of putting it away I showed them instead how to properly use it. They boys laughed at Dolce as she fumbled and squeaked with the practice wood I had given her and yet she persevered, determined to show us that she could do it. I found myself smiling as I recognized the same determination in her that I often display myself when a daunting task challenges me. After our sawing lesson was over, I proceeded to show her how to hammer nails properly and amusedly watched as she used her new found skill to create a make shift frame of sorts. When she finished, she was obviously proud of her creation and I found myself beaming with pride as I saw how happy my simple lessons had made her. After that, she stuck to me like glue, sitting by me at work, laughing at my horrible Spanish, and even helping me finish a few of my jobs! At one point, despite my broken Spanish and her broken English, we even talked about boys! Though we were separated by age, culture, and language, we found a common ground and it all boiled down to plane old simple, girl talk! I felt so blessed to have been a small part of her life today and grateful to God for having given me the opportunity to experience the fellowship I’d watched others experience! It was an amazing feeling to know that I didn’t only make a difference in her life physically, but that we were able to connect on an emotional level as well! God is good. There really isn’t much more you can add to that, so I won’t.

Buenos noches amigos!

By Juliet Barrett