JOURNEY OF THE HEART: EL BARRANCO

El Barranco is another place that I hold dear to my heart because the people are just so warm and welcoming!! It's the village that I met the beautiful twins in two years ago and had the privilege of seeing again last year!! So naturally as we traveled today I wondered if I would be lucky enough to see them again!! As we arrived we were greeted by lots of smiling faces!! The kids were so excited to see us and the parent's were even happier than them!! It's an amazing feeling to experience for sure!! As I helped to unload the van I took in the sights around us. The women were hard at work in the kitchen making a meal to feed all the guests as the children all ran around and played!! You could hear the laughter and see the bright smiles every where you turned!! I took the opportunity to walk around and meet some of these children ad of course snap some photos!! It's always so much fun because they're so shy at first to have their photos taken but when they realize what it actually means they all want you to do it!! Taking the photos is not as fun as watching their faces light up and laughter begin as they get to look at the camera to seem themselves!! Even the adults enjoy seeing their children on the camera screen!! Something so simple that is no big deal to us brings forth such happiness for them!!

As we waited for the clown to get dressed and the other villagers to arrive we handed out candy canes which were a complete hit!! Candy is rather expensive in Guatemala so it's always a HUGE treat for the kids!! In fact many of them have NEVER eaten a candy cane before!! I mean can you imagine Christmas going by and never getting to enjoy a candy cane? I know I can't!! It's not only the kids who enjoy them though!! The mothers will hurriedly approach you for one as well!! Another moment of a full heart for me!!

As the crowd settles down and the clown comes out the smiles get brighter and the laughter louder!! Such an amazing sight to see!! It's even greater when the kids are called up to play games!! This time the clown wanted them to have a dance competition and man they had one little girl who could truly shake it!! She took her little boy dance partner all over the place!! I think she actually danced him until he was tired within minutes!! It brought tons of laughter for sure as we all sat back and watched her do her thing!! They won the dance off by a mile and truly deserved it!! When the clown was done his act he introduced Santa which added that much more excitement!! The kids lined up and all received a toy and had their photos taken. I always enjoy that moment after the last toy is given when I can go walk around and watch those toys being played with!! You see many of these kids have never owned a toy as hard as that is to imagine!! While our kids here in the states tend to have more toys than they can ever play with kids a world away have NONE!! Our children get a new toy at Christmas, play with it for a day then it's thrown aside never to be touched again while these children receive gently used toys and are ecstatic!! It's so awesome because they LOVE their new toys!! I mean you can't even begin to understand how excited they get to receive a stuffed animal or a pre-owned hotwheels car! To them it's new and a wonderful blessing!! It certainly warms my heart and truly reminds me just how spoiled my own children are!! At the same time I'm very thankful I have such understanding and giving children because many of those toys handed out come from them!! So it's always nice to see a little girl receive a doll that my girls have played with a handful of times or the boy who gets my son's hotwheels cars! It's a feeling I can never really explain!! More one of those things you'd have to be there to understand!!

After all the toys were handed out the mother's lined up to receive clothing for their families. Again a used shirt or pair of jeans is like a GRAND gift to them!! Simply amazing!! But even more amazing than that is being lead to a small room with a make shift table and chairs where we are asked to sit down and enjoy a meal the women have prepared!! That's right the people we are there to bless, who have little to give and can barely make ends meet are blessing us with a home cooked meal!! To me this shows true appreciation!! It shows how grateful they are to have us there and they teach me a very valuable lesson about having a kind heart!! It NEVER hurts to give no matter how small or insignificant you think your offering is!! For one person it may mean nothing while to another it may mean the world!! So take the time to give a gift to someone who has less than you and I bet you won't regret the joy you fill from doing it!!