God’s Love, Crazy Heat, and Quetzal Ball

Thoughts by John & Jack.

From John:

The weather was beautiful today.  In the beginning it was so cool, and later on it became very hot.  One of the hottest days I think so far, but also the coolest.  Even though there was intense heat, the clubhouse children had so much energy.  We played soccer, frisbee, and “correras” or “races” with the children.  While we were playing frisbee with a few children I was observing the area of the playground.  It was pretty beat up, there was trash everywhere, and most of the swings and other structures were made out of metal reebar (even though they were put their by Guatemalan Government).  As I was looking around the whole playground, right in the middle of where we were playing I saw a small yellow flower.  Just one.  And wherever the kids ran past the flower, they never stamped it out.  Its color was striking on the dark background of the dry and parched dirt.  How could a flower grow in this hot, dry weather?  This put a thought in my mind.  It was a spiritual symbol of Christ’s love in the dry land of the spiritually, and physically, poor. 

God’s love is so powerful that sin and death can never dry it out, it is ever lasting and can never be stamped out by evil.  The color yellow was also fitting: happy, energetic, lively, and loyal.  God’s love stays with us, it does not leave, and it brings a smile to everyone’s face.   It is also the living water.  It is available in the most spiritually deprived areas, the dry and desolate lands.  It is our true nature, and we should believe it and spread it to others.

From Jack:

Saturday evening was a wonderful evening. The night was dropping to the 60’s and the boys in our group had a fabulous idea. We created a game on the first night in Guatemala called Quetzal Ball. Its a fabulous game that involves the speed and pace of basketball but with some odd twists. For example, in the middle of the courtyard, there is a well that used to hold water. One quetzal player may step into the well(aka: the Quetzal Hole) and attempt the difficult five point shot. This game has given us such joy and laughter by almost wrestling with the basketball in the Quetzal Hole, or by making the most whack shots that leave each other gwacking at what we just saw. If your wondering where I’m going with this, I’m getting there. This game is fast paced, time consuming, and thrilling. In fact, this game requires so much energy to play, we have not been able to play the past few days. We have had such a great time with Clubhouse and the school that by the end of the day, we are all so tired and just want to kick back and relax. I have lost almost all energy to play this game, but it was all worth it. At the end of the day, the laughter I hear from the children at Clubhouse and the school puts a smile on my face. So the energy I expend in Quetzal Ball can wait for another day, and I’ll spend the energy I still have left giving kids piggyback rides and playing the other fabulous game of soccer.