Boys Will Be Boys

Last Sunday at the bilingual church we have been attending, we ended up sitting behind a row full of Guatemalan boys of varous ages, with an older white gentleman at each end of the row. It quickly became apparent that they would provide either a distraction or some entertainment, if not both.

The youngest boy was sitting directly in front of me, and he chose to stay in his seat while the rest of us stood to sing. Before long, he fell asleep. The other boys pointed and laughed and then brought it to the attention of the man on the far end, who laughed and gave them a camera to take a picture of their sleeping friend.

Some of the boys were doing an exaggerated clap with the music, and my friend Ryan standing beside me joined their clap, which gave them something else to laugh about. When the serman began, one of the older boys decided to draw a picture of Ryan on an offering envelope. (I should point out that Ryan has allowed a beard to grow during his time in language school and is therefore looking a bit wilder than before he came here.) Between his appearance and his clapping performance, the boy decided to label him "Ryan Loco" ("Crazy Ryan"). When he gave the picture to Ryan and saw how funny we thought it was, he began drawing again, continuously looking over his shoulder at me. I must saw I was a bit nervous about what he might choose to include in his drawing. I have to saw that he was very kind, except I guess I was labeled crazy because I was with Ryan?

Then he drew Olivia and then Paul, but they were given the kinder label of Amigo (Friend). Ryan's picture was by far my favorite, but I have to say I was also entertained by his inclusion of Olivia's hairstyle that flips out at the bottom.

As entertaining as all of this is, I keep thinking about that row filled with boys and wonder what their story is. Where do they live? With whom? What do they know of our Savior? Although it is very unlikely that our paths will cross again, these silly drawings will prompt me to pray for them.