Whenever I see a blue playground ball, it takes me back to a memory of my Guatemala trip. I was part of a team that went to San Raymundo to help out at a school called Morning Glory. We spent our mornings teaching Bible stories to the children and the afternoons doing various repairs at the school. In between, we were able to hang out with the kids during their play time outdoors. My younger son Matthew made friends with a young boy the same age as him, named Diego. Although neither spoke or understood the other’s language, they quickly hit it off and would look for each other throughout the day to play ball.
On our last day at the school, Diego gave Matthew his blue playground ball to take back home with us! While we were going through customs in Guatemala to fly back home, they took that ball out of Matthew’s luggage and told him he couldn’t travel with it for some reason. We were crushed. I can still see the look in Diego’s eyes and his big smile when he presented it to Matthew. He was so proud to give him something that meant a lot to him and it made such an impact on both of us! Though language was a barrier, kindness and friendship broke through! We went to show the love of Jesus and the love and generosity shown to us will always be in my heart! You never realize the impact you can make on somebody by simply being kind!
Michelle Silke is the Early Childhood Director for the Curtis Lake Early Learning Center. She lives in Lebanon with her husband, youngest daughter and two sons.