Skate night

Today at skate night, two 7-year olds were having a great time pestering me and trying to get my attention. The would poke me in the side, hoping I would respond by "attacking" them. So of course I would indulge them by tickling them, picking them up and swinging them around, etc. Like all children, they need and love the attention of adults. Meanwhile, a couple of the other boys were enjoying showing off their best skateboarding moves for me. I also got to play a few games of "Uno" with one of the boys (I can't always give names in order to protect their privacy...). He had to teach me the rules because it had been probably over 20 years since I last played!

It's amazing how even something as simple as just sitting on the steps watching the kids skateboard opens huge doors to be a part of their lives and share Christ's love in practical ways. It's rare for any of the parents to show up at the skate park and watch their kids, so they look to me and Barrett for affirmation and love while they are here, especially the 7 to 13 year olds. They get to skate from 3:00 to 4:30, and then the older kids are allowed to skate from 4:3o to 6:00. After the skate session, two of the barefoot boys came by and offered me some of their plantain chips, which I'm sure were purchased with hard-earned money. It was touching, to be sure.

Here's a picture of Tammy, who is serving with Alternative Missions in Puerto Viejo together with her husband Ronnie. She is pictured here with a little girl she was babysitting (she also has two girls of her own). Tammy is really great with kids and runs a local AWANA program in Spanish with her husband.