and...the puppets didn't smell!

Yesterday, a missions team from Santiago, Chile arrived to work with us here in Cuzco. Today was a busy, busy day. In the morning, after breakfast and a time of sharing our thoughts about the devotional that we are doing, we went to a plaza in Wanchaq (which is the district of Cuzco in which I live). We set up a puppet house, and walked around inviting kids to come sing and dance with us and watch a puppet show. And we did all of that! Lots of singing and dancing and puppets.

It's neat to come to a place like this and offer something for kids. These kids aren't here because it's a fun place to be. They're here because their parents are vendors in the plaza and they have to be here all day. A lot of these kids are put to work too, walking around the plaza trying to sell whatever it is their parents are selling in their booths. So, to have something fun, specifically for children, here is a rarity. And it's nice that we can give these kids some time to actually be kids. But it hurts a little that we can only offer them a little bit of childhood for only a couple hours. They are cute kids, and they have to grow up much faster than kids should have to grow up.

It was also really cool to watch the parents that watched from a distance. There really isn't much for children here. And it's my guess that the parents of these kids are grateful that someone will provide a place where their kids can smile and laugh and play together. It was really awesome to see these moms' and dads' faces just light up while they watched their children have fun. And what's more, as they watched these complete strangers loving their children the way that Christ loves their children. I wonder how often they get to see that...other people; strangers, caring about their kids. That is something that speaks so loud.