Praising Jesus!

Ugh, the heat! How miserable.. No escape, for fear of racking up the bill on the air conditioning.. So I'll just sit and mope about it.

This morning, these were my thoughts.

And apparently, Janessa's too.

We both were almighty quiet and, with time, were apologizing to one another for being downers. We determined the reason we were so was because of the excruciating heat of the day, resulting in a lack of energy, and lack of motivation.

And we were planning on playing soccer that afternoon, in a hot dirt plaza with some of the boys from Potter's Field.. and dreading it. All we wanted to do was go to the beach and spend the afternoon cooling off in the ocean.

The only reason we were determined to go through with the day was because of the hope to brighten a young boy's day. This boy is named Yoel (pronounced Joe-elle). We had had a few soccer days before, and after that Yoel, every time we passed his house, would call out, "Janessa, Shaylene! Vamos jugar bola??" (Are we going to play ball?) We wanted to fulfill this one task of blessing him by playing ball one more afternoon before the kids started school, and there wasn't enough time.

Time passed, and in the heat of the day we wandered toward the nearby town plaza, the (most of the year)dirt field where major events take place.

Yoel was the first to show up. He always is. As others filtered in, he was excited to start, and so were the rest.

An hour and a half passed before we even realized it. We were soaked in sweat, exhausted, but there were smiles on our faces. My heart was lifted. These kids always blessed me more than I could imagine, and I look at the morning and cringe because of how I almost dreaded spending time with them because of my personal discomfort.

At the field (L to R) Josuet (with ball), Valentin, Me, Julian, Yoel, Federico

At church tonight the message was about giving praise to God. What a conviction after I treated my Father the way I did because I was hot and miserable, and still, He blessed me beyond compare. I desire to give praise to my Father, because that is why I was created. I want to lift His name high, even when I am distressed and uncomfortable. I thank God He gave me a heart for the children of Villarreal and the desire to put their happiness above my comfort, in order for Him to show me the truly blessed life I live, even in the heat of the noonday sun.

"I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High." Psalm 9:1-2