Wealth in the midst of poverty

In the past couple of days I've had several conversations with people surrounding the topics of poverty, children at risk, and ways to respond to people and kids who live in poverty.  It has been great to see so many people with a heart to really live justice and mercy and love in action with these communities.  It's not an easy task, especially not for those who work full time with children and families that lack structure and so many of the basic resources that we take for granted.  But it was also neat to witness at Nak Suu today some of the ways that these communities are rich and alive and full of resources of ingenuity and creativity.  It doesn't mean that we don't continue to work with them, to help them with the emotional, spiritual, or physical resources that are lacking, but it does mean we approach them looking for ways we can learn from them, respecting who they are and how they live, no matter how basic it seems to us. 

One simple way I saw their resources today was during craft time when the creativity of the kids came out in what they were drawing. I loved seeing what the kids created when given a bucket of colored pencils and the freedom to just be kids and use these materials that they don't have much access to. What would have bored other kids quickly held their attention for quite some time. 

Before Nak Suu even started I saw talents that knocked my socks off. Some of the teenage girls had this long rope/string made out of small rubber bands strung together. Two people held the rope- at first just waist or chest high, later on over their heads- while the others jumped over it. And landed on their feet.  Seriously. I held this thing 6 inches above my head and they got both feet over.  Bare footed on the grass.  Their concentration and skill amazed me. And they loved it.  Towards the end they tried to get me to do it, but I knew I'd be the one to land on my back or head at the worst and just pull some serious muscles at best. 

Nothing fancy, just simple technology-free fun all around.