An Offering of Friendship

What a wonderful four-day weekend! I wish every weekend had four days! My weekend was totally full! On Saturday I ended up going to a Mexican wedding for most of the afternoon. Then I went over to a friend's house with Miguel, this really cool kid from my school who just moved here from Mexico. On Sunday, Miguel came with me to church and he ended up spending the rest of the day with me until 9:30. We went to the skatepark, built Legos, played soccer, ate lunch at Qdoba, and just had a great time! Today Miguel and I went to watch our friend Greg play soccer. His team won the state championship! Then we went to the skatepark again and had dinner at Cici's Pizza! I've been playing all weekend with my delightful kitty, Calabaza, too!

Miguel is truly an extraordinary kid. He's very smart, for one thing, but he's absolutely one of the nicest kids I know. His family moved here a couple of months ago and they left Mexico with almost nothing. Miguel had to leave almost everything behind. I've been slowly trying to give him things that I don't need anymore or things that I can find at yard sales, like puzzles and Lego blocks and stuff. The thing that makes him different from most other kids is that he totally wants to reciprocate this spirit of giving. He doesn't want to just take stuff that I give him. Every time I see him, he has a present for me. He has so very little, yet he's willing to give away anything that he has.


It reminds me of the story in the bible about the woman who put only two small coins in the treasury at the temple (Luke 21:1-4). Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."


This kid who has so little, leaving everything behind, moving to a place where he can't understand a single word of the language, and yet, who can't stop smiling...this kid gives away everything he has. Miguel loves my cat Calabaza. He's always finding things to give my little orange kitty. I took these pictures of Cala today so I could give them to Miguel tomorrow at school. I am so thankful that God has sent me this beautiful picture of humility through this child, a boy for whom material possessions mean everything and nothing at the same time. And I am so grateful that God lets me help Miguel and other kids like him.