I was talking with fellow traveler Rachael this evening about our recent trip to Guatemala, sharing ideas about return trips and future involvement.  We both want to go back as soon as possible, and we’re thinking about how to be focused in our efforts to reach these kids.  We also want to go where the need is the greatest, and in thinking about that, my mind leaps to the boys of San Gabriel and Eliza Martinez.  These are some of the boys we first met when we entered Guatemala 2 years ago, the boys who grabbed at our heart strings.  There are 2 boys in this picture who recognized me, Henry (the one in the middle) and Daniel (far right).

Henry told me that he’s been at San Gabriel for a couple of years and he has no contact with his parents, never hears from them.  There was something in his eyes as he talked to me, and I felt him watching me even as I interacted with the other boys.   Not in a creepy way, but in a way that left me feeling that he was desperate for attention.  I saw the same thing in Daniel’s eyes: a hunger and a longing for a connection with another person.  There were no tricks or physical grabs for attention, just a look in their eyes that spoke to me about the need to be loved.  “Look at me; know that I exist.”  It’s a look that stays in my mind, longer than any conversation we shared that day.  I hope that I can see them again soon and tell them that I was anxious to see them again and spend time with them.  To tell them that they are important to God and important to me.