Today was the first day of interacting with the children. As we walked into the school we were bombarded with children yelling “Gringos!!” and immediate hugs. As quickly as we can we threw our water bottles down and started playing. Through broken Spanish and energetic kids God’s presence became obvious.
God loves the broken. Through all of the hurt and poverty these children and families endure, their joy shines through. After running, jumping, and giving kids piggy back rides Katie, Nathan, Logan, Mr. Lyon, Mrs. Urquhart, and I went to the schools garden. The garden was overgrown and full of broken glass and trash. We started raking up the dead plants and putting them into bags. After all of our bags broke we decided that we needed some heavy duty lawn bags in order to accommodate the large amount of trash and plants.
As we were making piles of debris I happened to stumble across a nest of red wasps. At first we believed they were just cockroaches so Logan being the brave man he is almost put the stick inside of their nest to kill them. Thankfully Mr. Lyon detected what they actually were before he had the chance. When Logan and Nathan successfully moved an aloe plant we discovered Aloe is actually extremely sticky and it smells like the inside of a green-bean. From there we went to help serve the kids lunch.
The church their ministry takes place is no bigger than one classroom at LCS. This includes a kitchen, 2 small dining rooms, a small bathroom, and the sanctuary. We squeezed over 20 kids and approximately 6 adults. We made food packs for the families within the community. The food packs consisted of flour, sugar, pasta, black beans, and cookies. Once lunch was served we went down the street to the park where we played volleyball and soccer.
I got the opportunity to teach 3 little boys all under the age of 10 how to play volleyball and they loved it. They were so cute and loved passing a volleyball back and forth. Running around with kids is my favorite thing. I’m most comfortable playing with kids, even talking to them in broken Spanish.
God took me out of my comfort zone a little bit when we handed out the food packs to the families. We went into their houses and prayed for them. This shook my world. The houses were at most 2 rooms and a bathroom. The one house we went into was a queen sized bed touching both sides of the wall with a television set above it, a bunk bed with only a mattress on the top bunk and underneath was used as storage. The door to the bathroom was simply a shower curtain. These people living with so little also ask for so little. When we asked how we can pray for them they simply said for health. They didn’t ask for food or stuff. How can people with what seems like nothing be so content and joyful? I suddenly got an overwhelming sense of guilt because I have so much in my own little corner of America, yet constantly want more. The feeling of discontentment within my own mind is one of greed and selfishness. I was challenged by God to just be okay where I’m at and with what I have.
God is moving within this community. The kids have such a hunger for genuine love. Pray for energy and strength as we head into the rest of this week.
Much love,
Nikki Schlegs 🙂
LC Senior Go! 
I love it! Nikki, your post is the perfect complement to Mrs. Hoover’s devotion today. Sometimes we are handed things in life (like poverty or sickness or financial problems) that are unwanted. It is through our faith in God that we grow through this and in Him. Thanks for sharing!