These gifts are expressions of gratitude 🤝, generosity 💛, and relationship 🫶. They are ways of saying, “We value that you came. We value the language you bring 🤟. We value the love of Jesus you share with us ✝️.”
Recently, while visiting a Deaf boy in a Guarani village, we were waiting in the community meeting area when suddenly he came running out of the jungle 🌳 from his home. He rushed toward me with an awkward hug because both of his hands were already full 🙌.
With a huge grin stretched across his face, he carefully set everything down and signed, “turtle” 🐢.
He was so proud—not just of the gift 🎁, but because he could communicate what it was 💬✨. A year and a half ago, this same little boy didn’t even know his own name. Now he was confidently signing, sharing, and giving.
His brothers stood nearby wearing necklaces made from turtle bones 🦴🐢, reminders of the hunt that had provided the gift he was so excited to offer.
That turtle meant far more than a gift or sharing about their traditions 🌎. It was connection 🤝. It was dignity ✨. It was language 🤟. It was the joy of being understood and being able to give something meaningful in return ❤️.
That same day, we were also given a beautiful gourd. Many gourds here are dried and hollowed out to make mate cups for drinking their traditional tea, mate🧉, but this one had grown in such a unique way that its shape was unlike any I had seen before 👀✨.
It felt fitting somehow—a reminder that God delights in uniqueness 🌱, in unexpected beauty 🌸, and in people who the world often overlooks ❤️.
Moments like these remind me that ministry is never one-sided ↔️. Yes, we come to teach language 🤟, to disciple 📖, and to share the love of Jesus ✝️.
But we also receive so much in return 🎁: friendship 🫶, trust 🤝, generosity 💛, and glimpses of God’s image ✨ reflected through people discovering their worth and voice for the very first time. 🥹🤟
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