Grace

Hello everyone!

We LIFTers are currently relaxing at Ron Borman’s house, where we are resting before our hike up Sincholagua.  For the past few days, we have stayed in Oyacachi.  From the moment we hopped off the bus, I was humbled by the generosity, kindness, and authenticity of the Oyacachi kids.  We started our time in the village on Wednesday by playing with the kids at the Ecua-volleyball courts: kicking around soccer balls, swinging the kids around in circles, and laughing and running around.  Many of the kids picked one of us LIFTers to be their friends and playmates for the next couple days.  For me, it was Jennifer, a soft-spoken young girl with piercing eyes, and Hector, a rambunctious boy who was constantly spouting both Spanish and his English vocabulary.  Despite my limited Spanish ability, I deeply enjoyed spending time and getting to know these two kids. 

Throughout our time at Oyacachi, my fellow LIFTers used their God-given talents and abilities to love on the kids through the morning school programs, where we danced, acted, taught, shared on the Word, and played.  But what stood out to me most was the individual interactions that LIFTers shared with the kids during the down time in the afternoons.  For instance, I watched as one of our LIFTers, Alyssa Zook, befriended many of the girls and poured herself out to them.  There were times when I felt drained after spending hours with the kids, but she continued to smile and laugh with the girls, walk with them around town, listen to their rambling, and love them as the big sister and friend they needed.  Many of the kids also gravitated to another of the LIFTers, Joseph Wang, who awed them with his fluency in Chinese.  I remember on Wednesday seeing him surrounded by wide-eyed kids who shouted and cheered for him to write his name in Chinese or to teach them some Chinese characters.  Through these interactions, I witnessed Christ’s love working through us in powerful ways. 

As much as I saw God’s love poured out through us, I came away amazed by the love of Jesus that radiated from the kids.  On Friday, the dreaded time came—we had to leave the people and the village we had grown to love.  The kids swarmed around us, hugging us tightly and pleading with us not to leave.  Jennifer came up to me, hugged me, and (as I later found out) placed a gift in my jacket hood.  It was a tiny, hand-carved bear.  Many of the other LIFTers also received small tokens and gifts from the kids, as they continued pulling keychains, wood carvings, flowers, and candy from their pockets.  This reminded me of the story in the Bible where the widow places a small offering in the temple chest; it was insignificant by the world’s standards, but Jesus knew she had given all she had. 

The most difficult aspect for me was leaving Jennifer and Hector, knowing that I might not ever see them again.  But I also know that future generations of LIFTers will continue to befriend them.  After all, this is God’s work, not ours, and I am confident He will continue the good work He has begun in these children.  I also know that the Lord has done a work in my heart through the Oyacachi children.  I came expecting to give, to serve, to sacrifice.  But I left knowing that I had received far more than I could ever give, blessed by the love of Christ radiating through the children.  There is only one word to describe what I witnessed permeating our time at Oyacachi, echoing in the thin mountain air, and revealed in the kindness of the kids: GRACE.

Chris Kuo