Unexpected, surprising… our journey of 1,000 smiles—smiles on the faces of barefoot children who don’t know how bad they’ve got it. Smiles on the faces of their grandmothers who do; knowing grandmothers who understand that the only way to fight despair IS hope, IS involvement IS to be a part of the solution. Small children jostling to be the next one to have the privilege to carry a block, pick me, pick me! The tougher big kids, 11, 12, 14, so proud to contribute muscles and brains, let me show you how this is done…
Smiling mamas, laughing, bending, digging and serving—as they built houses, and let us help—made us friends and let us feel like we were a part of something good at the very center. A part of something small, that will spread grace like fire from one heart to another. Friends teaching me that having nothing is not the same as having nothing to give. Proving every day that there is never a time when we have nothing to give. Lessons in love, lessons in hope, joy shining through the slats of “the odds are stacked against you.” They cannot help but inspire. They do not fail to break my heart, and then hand it back to me patched with a 1,000 smiles.
Kelly Patterson
Africa Mission Team 2013
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