Scary Things

Do you ever wonder how much one encounter touches people-if at all? I wonder all the time, even about the smallest interactions, like making eye contact with a stranger on the street or suddenly smiling at the woman walking towards me, or having great conversation with someone you will never see again.

This past March I went on a short, yet life changing, mission trip to Honduras. I met some amazing people there. One person in particular, a girl from the village, totally changed my perception of how we impact others. Leslie helped me learn the power we have to demonstrate the love God calls us to spread everyday- in the smallest ways; ways that we might not even see as meaningful. 

I'm afraid of dogs. Actually, I'm afraid of almost any animal. Yet something about loose dogs wandering around in a foreign country just scares the crap out of me. To get to the bathroom we were using, we had to pass in front of the home of our host family. Simple, right? Except that there was always a dog there (sometimes two!) ready to start barking all crazy.

So I come out of the church that day-super confidently, I might add- and start walking in front of the house, when the dog jumps up and starts barking at me. As they laugh, the owners say in Spanish, "It's okay, he won't do anything!" *insert straight face emoji here* I slowly turn around and realize that no one is available to come with me. Leslie is sitting there laughing at me! So I laugh too and I ask her to walk with me past the dog. As we walk, we begin to talk a little. But to my surprise, as soon as the dog barks she grabs my hand and says: "Oh my gosh! This dog bit my aunt one time!" -WHAT?! in my head I yell, "Girl, I only brought you because I thought you weren't scared!" I, of course, just tell her it's going to be fine. 

The next day, she had to drop something off at the house and asked me to walk with her. This time we were a little braver and just walked across as the dog barked. It helped, of course, that this time the dog was farther away! Aside from this encounter, Leslie and I did not speak much. She was pretty quiet but always smiled. When the time came for us to leave, it was the saddest moment of the trip. But when I got to Leslie, that's when the waterworks really came for me. I gave her a hug and she began to cry and did not want to let me go. At first, I didn't get it. But then I realized how much that small encounter touched her heart. Even though for me it seemed like nothing out of the ordinary, for her it was something really special.

My encounter with Leslie helped me to be more aware of the interactions I make in my life and the power we have to impact others. How will I mirror the essence of God's love to others everyday? Leslie taught me to remember not to take the small things for granted. I think of her with gratitude. I pray she is ok and strong enough to face any obstacles that come her way. Thank you, Leslie.

Grace and Mercy will follow me all the days of my life.

NATI PEREZ