When I was a kid, there was a TV commercial for a family board game called \u201cHusker Du?\u201d.\u00a0 It featured a traditional family sitting around the table laughing and playing the game as the announcer explained that \u201cHusker Du?\u201d meant, \u201cDo you remember?\u201d in Danish.\u00a0 It resembled a board game version of \u201cconcentration\u201d.<\/p>\n
After a plane change and 5 hr delay we are finally home and I\u2019m thinking back on my experiences in Juarez.\u00a0 When we arrived in the darkness the kids poured from the dormitories and immediately began carrying luggage, smiling, and inviting us to play games.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n
It was a physical week.\u00a0 We painted, nailed, crimped, sanded, splashed, drilled, sawed, and wired.\u00a0 It was a touching week \u2013 we reached out to the children and hugged, played soccer, colored, squeezed, danced, giggled, and sometimes cried.\u00a0 Thursday night during the youth church service we danced, laughed, and praised God together.\u00a0 In each of their smiling faces we saw the reflection of God\u2019s love and grace.\u00a0 We reached out to love them, and their response dissolved our armor.<\/p>\n
Last night Betel shared with us the stories behind some of the children we met.\u00a0 I won\u2019t go into details here, but every child at Emmanuel has a unique and heartbreaking story.\u00a0 They have suffered in ways that turned my stomach and made me close my eyes and shudder.\u00a0 Yet through God\u2019s love, they smile.\u00a0 They reach out to be touched once again.<\/p>\n
This morning, like our arrival, the kids came to meet us in the darkness.\u00a0 5:00am was not too early to exchange hugs and smiles once again. So, I find myself now asking, Husker Du?\u00a0 Or in Spanish, \u201c\u00bfRecuerdas?\u201d.\u00a0 At home, I intend to put some of the pictures from the trip on our refrigerator.\u00a0 But will the digital pictures and memories from this trip be enough to keep me from fashioning new armor?\u00a0\u00a0 Pray now both for the children of Emmanuel and that everyone on the team remembers.<\/p>\n
![\"Saying](\"http:\/\/leopardshark.com\/efcn-mx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/dsc_0264-300x199.jpg\" "\\"dsc_0264\\"")
Saying Goodbye<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When I was a kid, there was a TV commercial for a family board game called \u201cHusker Du?\u201d.\u00a0 It featured a traditional family sitting around the table laughing and playing the game as the announcer explained that \u201cHusker Du?\u201d meant, … Continue reading