When I was a kid, there was a TV commercial for a family board game called “Husker Du?”. It featured a traditional family sitting around the table laughing and playing the game as the announcer explained that “Husker Du?” meant, “Do you remember?” in Danish. It resembled a board game version of “concentration”.
After a plane change and 5 hr delay we are finally home and I’m thinking back on my experiences in Juarez. When we arrived in the darkness the kids poured from the dormitories and immediately began carrying luggage, smiling, and inviting us to play games. Our suburb personas, often slow and stiff when thrust into new surroundings, melted quickly and we were soon jumping rope, hugging, and laughing with the children.
It was a physical week. We painted, nailed, crimped, sanded, splashed, drilled, sawed, and wired. It was a touching week – we reached out to the children and hugged, played soccer, colored, squeezed, danced, giggled, and sometimes cried. Thursday night during the youth church service we danced, laughed, and praised God together. In each of their smiling faces we saw the reflection of God’s love and grace. We reached out to love them, and their response dissolved our armor.
Last night Betel shared with us the stories behind some of the children we met. I won’t go into details here, but every child at Emmanuel has a unique and heartbreaking story. They have suffered in ways that turned my stomach and made me close my eyes and shudder. Yet through God’s love, they smile. They reach out to be touched once again.
This morning, like our arrival, the kids came to meet us in the darkness. 5:00am was not too early to exchange hugs and smiles once again. So, I find myself now asking, Husker Du? Or in Spanish, “¿Recuerdas?”. At home, I intend to put some of the pictures from the trip on our refrigerator. But will the digital pictures and memories from this trip be enough to keep me from fashioning new armor? Pray now both for the children of Emmanuel and that everyone on the team remembers.
Saying Goodbye