This week Sophia and I had the opportunity to start spending time with a girl who lives near the property. Mary lives right behind one of the pulperias (little roadside "shops" that have soft drinks and little snacks) that we go to a lot. We had spoken before, but Sunday she really wants to learn English. So now on weekday afternoons Sophia and I have the opportunity to go sit outside her house and build a relationship with her while we teach her English.
It was really cool to see the way that God had her open up to us, the very first day she started telling me about her childhood and relationships with her family with very little prompting on my part. She is 23, has been married for 4 years, and she and her husband have an adorable 2 yr old named Genesis.
Mary is so hungry to learn, she has probably learned what we have taught the kids over three weeks in two days! Her daughter sits and learns a well, always telling her mom to focus when we start talking about other things. There are about 5 little girls and one boy living in the area behind the pulperia, and the girls and one boy living in the area behind the pulperia, and the girls constantly shower is with little notes and gifts. Yesterday one girl gave Sophia her hairbow and gave me a little note saying "God is love". They love to hug and kiss us and tell us the English words they know.
I am really glad to be able to learn how to do more relational types of ministry. In hindsight, mine and Sophia's trips to buy coke or pick up the tortillas for lunch not only brought us this opportunity, but also placed my task-oriented self alongside someone gifted in intentionally building relationships. It is so cool to see how God is sovereignly moving us towards the good works he has already planned for us when we naively think that nothing is going on.
