Diego

June 23^rd

Artezon, Ecuador

Waking up in the Andes Mountains is a beautiful thing, especially when you start the morning off running down the winding roads that curve around the landscape of the mountains. God gave us perfect weather for the start of our second and last week in Artezon, continuing our Vacation Bible School and work around the schoolyard. Knowing a lot more of what to expect from the kids and from the worksite certainly put my mind at ease and enabled me to guide and acquaint the new campers around the schoolyard during the day. VBS picked up where it left off. We like to refer to it as ‘controlled chaos’ around here. Seriously though, everything went really well and the 90-95 kids seemed to pick up on the story of Joseph pretty well today.

We’re also blessed to have a larger group at the site this week (11 compared to 8 last week). Last week’s group did an excellent job at knocking out most of the exterior wall work around the school, painting it a nice crème and red color, which enabled this weeks group to concentrate on the classrooms and other buildings around the school. Our big task for the day was sanding and repainting desks in the schoolyard. About halfway through our two and a half hour work block, some of the kids decided to help us with our painting tasks. The only downside to the idea was that we didn’t have enough paint brushes for them to use. So one boy, Diego, decided to use his hand instead. I failed to mention we were using oil-based paint, the type that you have to use paint thinner to get off your hands. Needless to say, by the time we were cleaning up, he was still working away, his hands and face with paint all over them and his clothes showing marks of his efforts. What I didn’t tell you is that this boy is the same one that was the Bible School rebel of last week. Constantly causing trouble, chasing others with snot coming out of his nose and dirt on his clothes, he wasn’t exactly the first kid you wanted to hug. But he was the kid who came back for 2^nd and 3^rd’s each day in the juice line. He was the kid who was shorter than everyone else that probably got picked on in school. And I realized today that the reason I might be there this week was because of this little boy, Diego.

Jesus often embraced the un-liked crowd of people as he traveled. We should do the same. It’s out of our comfort zone, certainly. However, it’s worth the effort when you see Diego plug into something he doesn’t even have to be a part of, just because of your presence there. All the other kids left to go home from school at 12:45pm, but this kid stuck around until we left at 3:45pm.

This week, as the rest of my time here, is for the Diego’s of the world. Those who are probably hurting inside and who not only need to hear the Good News, but also need someone to show interest in them. For those of you reading this though, you don’t have to go to Ecuador to do this. You don’t really even have to step out of your backyard, geographically speaking. The Diego’s of the world are everywhere. It’s our job as Christians to take the initiative.