Using your gifts.

I think it was last Friday. It was about two o’clock and we had just opened the ramp. I was in my house taking my last few swallows of very old coffee before I ventured out to brave the jungle of wild children that I knew awaited me. I was chit chatting with Leslie and Lisa when the sound of a very loud, “HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO,” came ringing through the air. And whose voice might it be you ask? It was little David and he knew that he was not supposed to be that far back in the rancho. Lisa jumped up to see what exactly it was that he was up to when he shouted up to her, “NO! The OTHER one!” You see, I am often referred to as “the other one.” These days, Lisa and I are fairly interchangeable and our names are very similar (especially with Spanish pronunciation.)  And so I took a step outside to see what he wanted. Wide-eyed and grinning ear to ear he told me, “I brought you a gift!” "You brought me a gift?” I asked. “Yes! Come see!” he said and in his hand was a bag. Are you familiar with those “go green” bags? You know the recyclable grocery bags with witty sayings? He had one of those and waited as I discovered what was inside. He had brought me a little white teddy bear about the size of my palm. As if that wasn’t sweet enough, the recycle bag was also part of my gift. He pointed to each word on the bag and read to me what was printed on it, “I want a better world."I gave him a BIG hug and we walked around the ramp showing some people my new gift before I went inside to put my bear on display.

Let me tell you a little bit about David. Although he is only nine, his feet are bigger than mine. And although his feet are bigger than mine, his shoes are smaller than mine. When I asked him about it he told me that he has to walk with his toes bent and that it hurts his feet. That's probably why he always walks around the rancho barefoot. He wears the same short almost every day. They are full of holes. When he is not spending time at the ramp, he sits outside one of the super markets begging people for money or food. Although David is nine he has a very difficult time controlling his emotions and relating to other children.  He is often on the brink of crisis. He would fight and cry and throw inconsolable fits when he first started coming to the ramp. Turns out though, it got better. It gets better. For the most part, these days, David behaves himself pretty well. We have discovered that David can control himself and have be and be fun IF he has a “buddy.” What this means is that between the three workers at the ramp one of them commits to being David’s buddy for the day. If David has someone to watch him, play with him, and encourage him, he behaves and enjoys himself. And so David has become my little friend. I’m not always his “buddy.” Sometimes we switch on and off on buddy-patrol. But either way, David loves me and brought me a little bear and a bag. You ought to see this sad little bear. It's a little white puff ball clutching little white and red flowers between it's paws. There's a stain right between it's beady little eyes. The best part is, there's glue marks on it's back and bottom. He clearly pulled it off a greeting card or a bouquet of flowers. I have no idea where he got it, or how, but I love it. What a blessing and encouragement it was for me to receive that bear. It's reassurance that me being here is actually doing some good and an inspiration to be a better buddy.