From the inside out

Today we visited the malnutrition center in the mountains of Guatemala. I ended up with a little girl that was probably between one and two years old. We went outside to play and were hanging out with a few other people underneath a rose tree. All the kids around us were picking up the fallen flowers around the tree and dissecting them but I noticed my little girl picking up the ugly dried up closed buds. I watched as she collected a couple dozen and then started to take them apart. When I saw what she was doing, I was curious to see what the inside looked like and began peeling off the layers of the bud. After I had taken the outer layers off, it was a beautiful rose inside, just like those other flowers. Through this I saw how the world sees the people in the landfill. By the world's standards, those people are ugly, disgusting, and undesirable but if you just look past their appearances, you see that they are amazing people. I know this is cliché and everything but this just reminded me of the age old saying of don't judge a book by it's cover. It's important for us to remember this at home too. Even when you think someone is fine, they could be hurting too. Thanks for keeping us in your prayers :) -Ellie Parker