Reflecting on our first day of SLAM El Salvador I think back to one moment in particular that brought me immense joy. I was working with a group of the SLAM participants to clean a clinic that needed a lot of aid before it was able to be used.
When the youth first walked into the clinic area they expressed a lot of disbelief in their ability to make an impact on that environment. I began talking to them in the best Spanish I could—encouraging them that they can do this and they are capable of working hard and making an impact. We were able to have conversation with one another before we jumped into our service.
I was with the youth in the small clinic and we were cleaning the floors, walls, and windows and I asked them to turn on some music. Kevin turned on Selena and we danced our way through the cleaning of this clinic. Water under our feet as we danced bachata, sweat on our faces as we sang ‘Baila Esta Cumbia’ at the top of our lungs, dirt on our hands as we got to clean a bed that needed to be removed of it’s dust.
Through their laughter they were able to form words–words that deeply impacted me. “It looks good in here. Guys we actually did something. Thank you for dancing with us and making us feel like we can can actually make a difference,” they laughed and smiled together.
These words were not fabricated, they were heartfelt, true, beautiful words that helped me see that through the seemingly meaningless elements of our daily service for the Lord we can find joy and purpose by allowing ourselves to be free under the security that Jesus loves us.
Kevin, Jose, David, Eduardo, Jeremy, Andrea found joy through dancing and came into an understanding that their service means something. They started to view themselves as individuals who have the capacity to make an impact on environments no matter how small that impact might initially be—they were free.