Being a host allowed me the incredible opportunity of not only getting to know dozens and dozens of amazing team members, but also of building relationships with almost every boy at the Life Center. Every kid touched my heart in a different way, whether it was Salomon and Daniel bringing me flowers and pictures, watching Alejandro care for his brothers, listening to Jaime, Alfredo, and Jose praying and singing at church, being asked to dance by little Jasmani over and over, or simply watching the beautiful faces of the children throughout the days and weeks I was living with them. They are all precious to me, and each of them taught me something unique and priceless about God's character.
One little boy, however, tugged at me in a very special way. Little Marcelino G and I met at a bonfire one night before any teams arrived. One of the other boys introduced us, and Marcelino promptly sat in my lap and fell asleep. I woke him up telling him it was time for bed, but he told me several times he just wanted a few more minutes. Rereading my journal entry from that night makes me cry. That precious child had my heart the second we met. I was captivated by him. After meeting him, I knew he was the child God wanted me to sponsor. Getting to tell Marcelino that I was his sponsor was the best conversation I've ever had. The next few days I continued to get to know him, and learned more about who he is. Marcelino is one of the best break dancers at the Life Center; he is extremely athletic, and very intelligent. He loves playing baseball and soccer, and can't get enough of reading. At times, he was also very resistant to love. Because of his history with his biological mother, bonding with females has been a challenge for him. Some mornings he would come up to me, call me "mama" and through his arms around me. Other mornings he refused to speak to me. I love Marcelino more than I could express, but that didn't stop me from being frustrated. I continued to pray that God would grant me patience and love with the little boy.
My last week in Bolivia, I had special concern for leaving Marcelino. My last night, he pulled something out from under his pillow. The first week of the summer, Marcelino had infected feet, and I had brought him clean socks every night and washed his toes with hydrogen peroxide. Marcelino had kept a note I had written him saying "Here are some clean socks, make sure you wash your feet, because I won't be here tonight. Love you, Tia Kimi." He asked me, that last night in Bolivia, to reread the note to him. I tried telling him it was just about socks, but he was certain, and I read the note to him before he smiled and put it back under his pillow, with the rest of the notes and things I had given to him throughout the summer. Later, he pointed to a poster of the shepherd with the lost sheep and told me, "Hey Kimi, that sheep is you. And that is Jesus, he came to find you." That same night, he inscribed his name into my watchband with a sharpie, telling me it was so I would never forget him. He then told me he loved me for the first time.
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