I frequently have a song playing in my head when I wake up in the morning. More often than not it is a song of praise. It may be an old hymn, a Southern Gospel song that I learned as a child, or a more contemporary praise and worship song that I have heard on the radio or at church. Whatever the tune, it usually becomes the song that I sing throughout that day. Whenever this happens, whether pleasant or bothersome, we call this an “earworm” around our house.
Last Tuesday, I woke up with an “earworm” of the pleasant variety. All morning I was humming “Beautiful Things” by Michael & Lisa Gungor. I really didn’t think much about it until later in the day when I checked in on Facebook and saw a video post about the opening day of a new school in Villa González. The song took on new meaning as I saw the shining faces of these beautiful children, many of whom we met just months ago. They were sporting their new bright orange shirts, each seeming so eager and excited to be at school. Realize that many children in this community have never had the opportunity to go to school. The nearest school is over a half hour walk away, and would require the children to walk along and cross a major highway that does not have sidewalks or crosswalks.
As I watched the video I could see hope in their smiles. There was hope for a future, a hope that had previously not been there. The lives’ of the children of Villa González have greatly changed in the past year. Within that time, a feeding program has started through the generosity of child sponsors, clean water is becoming available, and now the school is open! The lives and the futures of these children are changing for the better.
I love looking at the pictures of the classrooms now and comparing them to the pictures that we took in February. The dust is gone. Families are being restored, children fed and educated, clean water available, and spiritual needs are being met. Hope is springing up because God makes beautiful things.
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