Two months ago, Lee was playing baseball in a field full of garbage with some of the kids on the island of Carenero. An 11 year old girl struck him out. Of course everyone laughed and Lee made his way down the little path that runs through the village where he soon ran into a guy named Javier.
Javier speaks great English and is a business owner in the village. The two of them started up a conversation about the conditions the kids were playing in and before you know it, they had agreed to meet the next morning with garbage bags to do a little clean up.
The next morning the two of them and about 6 kids spent several hours cleaning up.
A week later, the entire town got together and took out 5,000 bags of garbage!
And that was just the beginning.
Two months later:
A few days ago we walked though the village again. I was shocked by how many changes have been made. Probably about 75 percent of the homes have some change besides being cleaner and having their grass cut: new paint, new flowers, additions, repairs.
It is a trickle effect.
One person paints his house and the neighbor likes it, so he paints his. People clean up their yard and feel good about how it looks, so they cut the grass. The land begins to dry out and feel less swampy, so they plant flowers. The flowers are blooming, and so is hope.
Today Javier met Lee in the street. They hugged and Javier thanked us again. He said they have been trying, unsuccessfully, to make a change for years.
They said it couldn't be done.
Fill has been delivered to build up the land under the homes (the whole island sank 4 feet in an earthquake in the 90's) Pipes will be laid in the next couple of weeks to remove the raw sewage from under the houses. Plans are being make to build a park.
The impossible is happening, Almost by itself.
I met a gringo guy covered in tattoos and wearing a huge shark tooth around his neck. He lives on the island. He says he is amazed by what is happening. He said, "When people come in and point fingers and say how horrible the conditions are, the locals are offended (with good reason). But when their self esteem gets built up and their "cups" are full, change happens almost without effort."
He is right.
So it really just goes back to playing baseball in the garbage. And connecting.
If we stop judging and just start caring, we can encourage each other, We can help fill up each other's cups. And when we do, and the motivation is genuine, hearts that were once discouraged and felt like giving up are inspired and excited. Change begins to take place little by little. And then, as if the seeds were thrown to the wind on a warm sunny day, it spreads. Its almost as if it had a life of its own and we get to watch it grow.
Breaking the Mold,
Laura
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