"What's
your name?" I asked as politely as I knew how in my broken Español. Not only did he not
answer me, he didn't even look up. I did notice the tear trickling down his cheek.
I
had taken a group of teenagers from the youth group in our church down to visit
"Hogar de los Niños," which is an orphanage for children in Tijuana. I used to
take a group down every other month to bring clothes, food and toys to 60 or so children
who all lived in one building. Every time we arrived, they would run up and wrap their
arms around us in a big hug while their faces beamed from ear to ear. It was like we were
their long-lost brother or sister, even if they had never seen us before. We would spend
time and play with them hoping to make their life a bit more enjoyable. To be truthful, I
believe they touched our group of American teenagers more than vice versa.
I
saw some of the older kids playing on the dirt basketball court on the lot next door, so I
wanted to go over and join them since I had played basketball in high school and college.
I figured it would be a good connection. But before I could make my way over, I noticed my
little five-year-old nameless friend hunched over in the corner looking like the world was
about to end. I then realized that my mission, should I choose to accept it (cue the
"Mission Impossible" music now!), would be to put a smile on this little boy's
face.
After
unsuccessfully trying to talk to him, I glanced over and saw a truck. I rolled the truck
to him and it stopped right at his feet. At first he did not move. I figured he would
either stay that way not moving an inch, or turn and walk away, or maybe pick it up and
throw it at me! It seemed like forever, but finally he slowly reached down, turned the
truck around and rolled it back to me. Yes! I was so pumped! I picked the truck up, turned it around and rolled it back to him. Then he picked the truck up,and turned it around
and rolled it back to me. Then I picked the truck up and ….. 'Cause that's
pretty much all you do when you play trucks. There's not a lot of strategy involved in the
game. We had a great time playing trucks for the next 20 minutes. We wore that truck down!
We had to change the tires, do some transmission work, lube and oil ….. But you can
only play trucks for so long. He had looked up by now but had not yet smiled.
So
I figured my next strategy would be to try to walk on my hands, which of course does not
sound that funny to you, primarily because you have never seen me try to
walk on my hands. Then I got this brilliant idea that he would like to walk on his hands.
I have no earthly idea how to explain that in Spanish, so I just went over and grabbed him
by the feet and picked him up. I figured at that point he might cross his forefingers to
make the sign of the cross while screaming, "Get away from me, you gringo!"
Fortunately, he caught on pretty quickly. Before long I heard the magic word
"acapuche," which was their slang for piggyback ride. So I put him on my
shoulders & before long he was laughing & having a great time.
Later
he was playing with some of the other kids so I asked one of the older children from the
orphanage what my little friend's name was. He looked up pointing at my friend and said,
"Him? His name is Jesús (pronounced "hey
sues")." English translation
….. Jesus.
As
we were driving back to San Diego in our old beat-up bus, the verses kept popping into my
mind from Matthew 25:34-45 when Jesus said that whatever you've done for one of the least
of these, you've done for me. I am convinced that day I did not just put a smile on a
little five-year-old Mexican child's face. I'm convinced that I put a smile on Jesus'
face. The truth of the matter is, the way we treat others is the way we treat Jesus. When
you encourage someone, you've done it to Jesus. When you treat someone poorly or fail to
help someone in need, that's how you've treated Jesus as well.
On
the way back one of my "troublemaker" kids (he was not voted into the position
like others on the Youth Council . . . he kind of seized it on his own initiative) came up
to me to talk. He told me he had video games, an ATV, and a swimming pool in his backyard,
yet he was bored half the time. Then he told me something I don't think I'll ever forget.
He said, "These kids have nothing, yet they seem to be happy almost all the
time." I guess owning a lot of "stuff" is not all it's cracked up to be.
For some strange reason my great Bible studies on Matthew 6:19-21 did not seem to have the
same impact as this living demonstration that the most valuable treasures can't be bought
in a store!