Saturday - Day of the Child Festival

The ability to see pure joy on someone’s face is a true blessing, and it is one that I have received both today and over the course of this week. Today, our group was able to participate in the festival put on by the local church in Ahuachapan. We did things like make popcorn, paint the kids’ faces, make animal balloons and bracelets, and play other outdoor games. Though this, I saw the biggest smiles on the faces of the children in this community. However, the most impactful moment of my day came from giving donations after the festival. 

We lined up donated items on tables and the people at the event made a line stretching to the other side of the field to receive some. I was handing out T-shirts when a little girl came up to the table. I reached out and handed her the shirt, and she looked at it with wide eyes and a wide smile. She held it as if it were her most prized possession and stared at it until workers had to motion her forward. This struck a chord in me because I had never seen such strong joy and admiration come from such an object in America. It showed me just how good our awesome God truly is. It showed me the love He gives and shows us through both small objects and large ones. It gave me a true appreciation for the seemingly “big” and “small” things in our lives. 

Afterwards, we left the festival and took food bags and bibles to homes in the community. I was faced with the same joy on the faces of the families who received the food as those who came to the festival. They told us how truly thankful they were to God for providing and for us for following His will. I was reminded of this verse as a result of everything that occurred today: Romans 15:13. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” True joy comes from God alone, and this joy goes hand in hand with hope, which could also be seen among those in Ahuachapan today. God is truly working in this community. I am so thankful for His work in the lives of our group as well.
~Katie Ison