On Thursday, I went with the McLaughlin family to a pueblo to distribute soccer balls (pelotas de futbol). Mom & dad collect used footballs from various clubs in Conneticut. They brought about 140. The 4 teens make daily sojourns into poor pueblos to inflate & distribute the soccer balls.
It's really quite simple. The 4 teens are quite sensitive to the kids & readily incorporate me into their work. We climb high off roads onto paths to reach kids. Word spreads fast & soon we have to suggest that perhaps one ball per family or pair of friends will have to suffice.
A man comes over to me asking for a ball. I reply: "Senior, no eres un chico." Sir, you're not a kid. Behind me a whole row of kids break into laughter. It is a very good feeling that I am finally beginning to speak Spanish in a manner that locals can readily understand. Believe me, in prior trips, even a "Como estas?" was met with a puzzled look!
The afternoon ends with a discussion among the 5 of us about what it means to give & to look beyond any acquisitiveness they experience from the poor youth here. After all, doesn't everyone want to receive their own? Seamus, Aislyn, Joey, and Jordan are wonderful young people to spend the afternoon with in a poor Guatemalan pueblo.
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