David and Goliath

Day 6:
Today is our first day with the boys of Casa Girasoles in Ica. This property is in the desert and houses about 40 boys from ages 2-17.
We begin our day with breakfast with the boys and shortly after, our first VBS lesson-David and Goliath. Haley and I read through the biblical account while Kate translated in 1 Samuel 17 and had the boys act out the story. David was played by the 2 year old David, and Goliath was played by Jharrinson, one of the oldest boys. Off the books, we told them that whatever problem they face, they are not too small. God will always be with them.
After the boys acted out the story, we gave them markers and butcher paper to trace the smallest boy in their group and color them like Goliath. The boys went to town! Ranging from scribbles to a six-pack, their Goliaths were pretty intimidating. Taking a fun twist on the story, we gave them jolly ranchers and rubber bands to act as slingshots, as if they were shooting down Goliath like David did. As another element to our lesson, we played Tug-o-war with the boys. Partially synonymous to the story, but mainly for fun.
With time left over, the boys taught us a couple of games. One of which was nameless, but consisted of tying a long balloon around your ankle and playing capture the flag in a sense. Basically, you had to chase the other team and pop their balloons by stepping on them. The boys all played, but needed new game and asked us to play. No one volunteered, so I did and it was actually pretty fun!
After my trip to Trinidad and Tobago last year, I realized how much I missed because I wasn't fully present. I promised myself that this trip, I would be present; not for pictures or for show, but for The Lord and the kids. So whatever situation arose, I put myself out there, hoping I would not make a fool of myself, but trusting that God would take care of me.
Our afternoon consisted of a "walk", which was actually a 10 miles hike to and up the mountains, or Stone Forest as they call it. It was fun to get off of the property and live the life these boys do on a regular basis. On our way up the mountain, I met Eduardo. So sweet and kind, he held my hand as we hiked and on our walk back, we had small conversation (which was him running back and forth between Kate and I). I also met Alexander who knew a considerable amount English. Our conversation consisted of me telling him what I knew in Spanish and vice versa. Little did I know that this kid would later capture my heart...