Abrazos de Malambo (Malambo hugs)

**Another article I wrote for the school newspaper.
(A glimpse into our Community Outreach program with the High Schoolers)

Abrazos de Malambo (Malambo hugs)
by Miss Diaz

Arriving to Malambo, we had no idea what to expect. The brightly colored buildings greeted us as school children in their uniforms watched us wide-eyed from the windows. A busload of high school freshmen, a couple teachers, and I unloaded into the parking lot and went in to talk with Sister Lourdes. The Sister welcomed us in with a wide smile and told us to “busque por los niños".

Soccer ball in tow, we made our way slowly down the steps to the playground area. It seemed deserted, but soon we heard chatter and cheery “Hola”s rang out as the girls approached us and introduced us to their homes. Our group split up, as the younger Malambo girls each grabbed the hand of a high schooler and began showing them around the property, to the pig and chicken farm, to the gymnasium, all over the place, and a small group of us sat in the cool of the porch of an older girls’ home.

At first, we sat there a little dumbfounded. How do you begin a conversation with someone who you’ve never met before? Someone who comes from a very different background than you, even though you live in the same country and attend school just 45 minutes apart?

Fortunately, the oldest girl in the group took charge and engaged us in easy small talk and introductions. Our high schoolers planned on teaching them a fun dance, but, in the end, it was the children of Malambo who taught us. After some deep belly laughing at our high schoolers’ made-up dance routine, the older Malambo girls looked at each other, and one ran upstairs to get her guitar. We sat in a circle and listened to them sing and play, joining in the song as we learned the lyrics. “Bendicion gloria poder y honra al Anciano de Dias sera.”

Here we were, worrying about what words to say to these kids, when all along, we needed to remember that God was sovereign. He deserved the power and the honor and the glory. We were not here at Malambo to show off our soccer skills or hang out with friends, but to glorify the Lord. Jesus Christ showed us His example by inviting the little children to come to Him. He shows us that sometimes all that’s necessary is to sit by a child’s side and listen close enough to her little heart to hear her true desires: To be loved, affirmed, chosen, accepted, a part of a family.

Afterwards, our group exchanged stories on the bus about the Malambo kids we had met, and we prayed for them. Some of our students had even spent time in a house where they care for toddlers diagnosed with AIDs. The freshmen described how they walked in the door and stood there observing the runny nosed boys and the sleepy-eyed girls.

For Cane, crossing this threshold into the AIDs house was stepping way far out of his comfort zone. But the spell that froze Cane in a state of uncertainty was broken as soon as one of those tiny boys ran up to hug him around the knees. The little boy looked up at Cane without any fear, tilting his head upward and imploring attention from this towering high schooler. The expression on his face was pleading, seeming to ask: “Will you love me?”

Every month, our group returns to Malambo to answer that simple question.