Time for Kids

Thoughts from GH2K Volunteer Becca

We asked our volunteer Becca to share what she's learned in her first few months here at the Give Hope 2 Kids Children's Home.  Here's the wisdom she has to share: 

St. Francis of Assisi once said, “Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words.”  I never really knew what that meant until I came to Honduras. 

In November 2012, I decided (or should I say God told me) to go to Honduras for 5 months.  The only experience I had with Spanish was high school.  I could only remember one phrase and that one was not going to help me.  So, how do you convey to these children that you care and love them, that they are something special, without knowing their language?

Some of the most valuable gifts we have to offer anyone are our time and actions.  Whether it is going swimming with the kids (their favorite activity), pushing them on the swing, listening to the girls talk about their day, even when you don’t understand a word, or making bread to bring a smile - - it all counts, from the smallest act to the largest act. 

I never realized how much our actions and time matter until I saw how they had the power to break though culture and language barriers.  Maybe this is why the Bible warns us against being lazy and to number our days.  With only one and a half more months left here, the thing I regret is not spending more time with the kids and remembering that my days are numbered (they go by faster than you think).  But isn't that true in our everyday lives, whether we are hanging out with abandonded kids in Honduras, or with our family and friends back home. We are only here on this earth for a limited number of days. 

Being in Honduras has taught me to make my time matter, to make my actions count, to resist procrastination and feelings of laziness.  Actions do speak louder than words.  Time is our most valuable gifts.  They are some of God most powerful tools that He uses through us and for us.