Jose Luis

This is Jose Luis. I met him a few years ago on a Missions Trip to La Mission Mexico. He changed my life.
I took this picture the first time I saw him. We were walking around the small Village and inviting people to a party we were having, and while walking through a back alley we heard laughter from under a blue tarp. We lifted up the tarp to find 4 young buys playing with a broken down Arcade Game that was kept under there. It looked like it was 20 or so years old, and there was no power running to it. When we lifted up the tarp and saw them, two of the boys bolted and the other two stayed. Jose Luis was one of the boys who stayed. He looked up at me with these beautiful brown eyes, and my heart melted. One of the translators was talking with him and asking what he was doing, he said that they were just playing games because they were bored. Eventually while we were talking everyone in my group surrounded him, at first he seemed to enjoy the attention. Then there was a moment when he looked around and realized he was encircled by people who he did not recognize and who didn't speak his language. He got very nervous and ran away.
A few days later I saw him again at the Party we were throwing. We gave away some soccer balls and he managed to get one. I walked towards him to see if he remembered me, and he did. I asked him if he was having fun, actually it was more like i mouthed it too him and made gestures. He understood and responded, but i could only understand every few words. I spent a few hours with him that day. He wanted to show me around. When he got candy after a pinata broke open, he brought it back to me as if he was trying to make me proud. I was very proud.
I couldn't understand how he could trust me without even knowing me, or without even being able to understand me. We bonded without words, only smiles and actions. It made me think of my relationship with Jesus. There usually isn't a lot of words, but I trust Him. He is there for us, waiting to see the candy we bring back to Him. The funny thing is that the candy isn't important to Him, It's seeing our joy in life that makes Him proud. It's watching us do something selfless that makes Him smile at us the biggest.
I went back to the Church we were staying at later that night and couldn't stop thinking about my day with Jose Luis. I wished so desperately that I could just take him home with me. I wondered if i would ever get to see him again. As all these questions ran through my head I felt a joy unlike any other. I think God was letting me feel just for a minute, a small portion of how He feels when we connect with Him. When we want to show God around and spend the day with Him. I appreciate Him letting me feel that.