It Takes a Special Person

I want to share an experience that I had the blessing of participating in recently.  About a month ago, my senior class took our class trip to Puerto Rico! Now, who wouldn’t love 85 degree weather with a beautiful breeze and view of mountains and the sea all at once?  I know I would love to live in that climate year round if I could.  Besides the obvious perks about Puerto Rico, the country stole my heart.  The people have such welcoming hearts and the atmosphere is like nothing I have ever experienced before. 
One example of this is a couple my class had the opportunity to work with named Frankie and Gina.  This couple were strong believers in the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ, and relied on Him for everything.  They had three sons, Adrian (7) and Brian and Francis (2), who they had to provide for as well.  One growing boy can be a handful, let alone three, but this family seemed to care for them with ease. 
My class painted the exterior of this family’s home as they didn’t have the resources to do so themselves.  I was given the chance to watch the twin boys for the day in order to keep them out of trouble and out of the paint.  Now, I’m used to little kids, but children who speak only Spanish is a different story. Yo hablo muy poco espanol y comprendo no mucho nada.  (I’m not even sure that makes sense, so you can see my problem.)
Nevertheless, I worked with the boys all day, playing with them, keeping them out of the way, and tiring them out so they would take a good nap later on.  By the end of the day, I was exhausted, probably even more than the twins, but I felt like I hadn’t really helped all day.  Other people were covered in paint and ready to collapse, but I was clean still.  As I was feeling this way, Frankie came up to me and thanked me for the time I invested in his sons.  He told me that his sons are difficult to take care of and he was so grateful that I had played with them that day.  He told me that anyone could pick up a paintbrush and paint a house, but only a special person could spend so much time with his children.
I don’t think I’ll ever forget Frankie’s words.  I’m one of those people who participates in a lot of activities, but I’m not really good at any of them.  But I love spending time with kids.  I never realized that could be a talent until Frankie told me it was.  That is my talent, and everyone has one.  Maybe it’s not super obvious or visible, but someday, someone will notice you working at it and appreciate you for it.  Until then, keep pursuing it with all you have.  And be on the lookout for others’ talents.  It means a lot to be appreciated, so take the time to appreciate others too.
Here’s a picture of the two beautiful boys I miss everyday.  Brian is on the left, and Francis is on the right.  Someday these boys will grow up and prove to the world they are worth more than it knows.