Things are Taking Shape(s).... Vectors of HOPE..Quédese, señor

¡Hoy es Miercoles¡  Wednesday... Day 3 of our HOPE service.  At breakfast today, our Hope guide Lucy told us that the Costa Ricans call Wednesday "el ombligo de la semana", which literally translates to "the bellybutton of the week".  Sounds a little cuter than "hump day" to be honest.  Breakfast included Beef Tacos, which were crunch and thinly wrapped (in los Estados  Unidos, we would call them taquitos)...I wanted to put 8-10 in a bag and take them with me to school for snacks while we paint LOL.

And off we went, fighting traffic around an accident (having only one route in and out of Pavas complicates things), but finally we got to school and got to work again.  Some final second coats of Celeste Blue on the tops of the walls were tackled by Ladderman (my X-Men name: my mutation is a large brush that extends out of the back of my right hand), while most of the team began working on the geometric shapes at the base of the walls, and Hope Lucy did much trabajo duro scrubbing the classroom windows.  By the end of the morning, the HOPE staff and intern was satisfied that we are in very good "shape" (drum roll, if you would please, maestro) and should be able to finish both rooms by tomorrow!

Afterwards, it was once again chaos in the courtyard as the younger members of the team and the younger interns joined the school kids (some of whom we will see later at HOPE) in very frenetic, energetic games.  (Oh to be young, and have all those power reserves!)  And the autograph sessions continued today.  Yours truly got in on the Hollywood session this time.  "¡Jesús <heart> tú!- Rob" was what I settled on.

There was one poignant moment... the team lunch had been prepared, and as usual, was being brought out in this huge white Igloo cooler.  One of the boys at the school, who also comes to HOPE every day, has learned what this means.   He sees this cooler every week during the summer when they are in school (HOPE has mission teams coming in all summer).  He came running over, a desperate look on his face, his arms spread wide.  As he got closer, he began to pat his stomach.  Later that day, an intern pointed out signs of malnutrition that the boy exhibits, signs for which I was not aware.

He is hungry.  Even with his daily HOPE meal, he is always hungry.  I have raised three chicos grandes... I know how hungry they always are... they are living power plants needing entire coal trains dedicated to them.

It is enough to tear your heart, as surely as we tore the cotton balls to make the sheep in crafts that afternoon.  You want to feed him.  You want to feed them all.  You wonder how the world can be like it is, and marvel at the effect of sin on the world.  Our Lord Jesus told us we cannot eliminate poverty... "The poor you will always have with you.." [John 12.8].   Until He returns, He expects us to be his agents in helping them, anyway we can.  The First Adam caused this, and it is our job to show Jesus to them until the Second Adam is allowed to come back and set All Things Right.

Pero te rompe el corazón...

Then it was back to HOPE for another day of loving the kids, cantando y baile, playing, arts & crafts, Bible stories, and being reminded that it is "Always the best decision to follow Jesus".  Today, the team members lined up on either side of the gate in the park in front of HOPE... I sat on the bench under the almond tree and watched as the kids started trickling in after getting their name tags and team color bandanas.  Pardon me as I pull out my Math Teacher (work starts next week... BOOOOO!)... but it was fun to watch as some kids would come in, look around, and immediately change course and make a direct vector to Denise, or Lucie, or Darren, or Alex, or Intern Darby.  I closely watched the visage of the chicos y chicas as they found the one they wanted... the one they had connected with.. and they beamed, and RAN.  Vectored into a huge HUG that seemed it would never end.  Lucie from our team even got a hug through the fence!   A girl from 2 years ago, who is too old for this year's camp, remembered her and wanted to reconnect.  Hope Director Paula says over and over that these kids just need to be seen and known.  That is why yesterday's theme was "Jesus knows my name."  They want to be seen, known, and know that someone who loves them will be there for them, and will hang around.... (more on that later)

Today's theme about how Jesus will look for and bring back his lost sheep.  Tall Sam put in a turn as Jesús, el Pastor (Jesus the Shepherd), who looked all around the kids on the floor for the stuffed sheep that was hidden in the HOPE sign up on the wall.  Mucho giggles all around!  The craft was a delightful Toilet Tube sheep that Ryan W. discovered online and Allison worked hard to perfect (the HOPE staff and interns have been very complementary of our team's crafts this week!), and the games included another round of 'find the sheep'.  (In the reflection time at the end of the day, there was some playful argument about the fairness of the hidings, we consulted VAR and it was inconclusive)

Stay with me a little longer, reader....
In the opening "briefing" at HOPE before the kids arrived, we got to hear an interview from Javi, a wonderful man who is on staff on HOPE.  I have obviously known him only 3 days, but it does not take very long at all to figure out how much he means to this place, and how valuable he is to Paula.  Allison has loved having him in the Green Room to help with crafts.  

Paula had to translate the interview, and the thing that stuck out the most was this.... Javi told a story about when he first came to hope, and an older girl came up to him... she was angry in countenance... in his words, he thought "she was going to bite him!" (later on that day, I had a girl stick her tongue out at me and called me "feo" (ugly) four times!)

And she asked him, in summary, "are you going to stay?"

Let that percolate for a moment.  "Are you going to be here for us?  For me?"

What she is really asking is "What kind of man are you?"

These kids do not have good experiences with men.  Men who are awful at being men are not limited to Pavas--they are a world-wide scourge.  But they are certainly a huge problem here too.  It is one of the biggest issues they face, especially the girls.  The kids of Pavas so desperately need to experience interaction with godly men who love properly, act with honor, and who will be there for them when they need them. 

They do not have that.
It is a glaring need.
Paula has been blessed to find several men on her main staff that fit that template.  
Praise God for that.

Quédese, señor...para mí.  Por favor.
y Jesús responde:  ¡siempre estaré aquí para ti!

Pray for the men like Javi at HOPE, standing in loco parentis for the missing padres y tios y abuelos in Pavas.  For those being the living, breathing agents of our Lord Jesus Christ here in this place, the hands and feet of Love and HOPE to these little girls that so desperately need someone to Stay.