Simple Acts of Love

Every week, Mission Year teams are given a night to spend with each other, fondly referred to as Team Night. It's a night with an extended curfew (11:00 instead of 9:00), when team members can go out and do something fun together, or stay in and have a relaxing evening without the normal hustle and bustle of Mission Year life. My team was a little slow on taking advantage of Team Nights at the beginning of the year, but we have all made a bigger effort lately to plan and execute some great evenings. We've gone to open mic nights at local tea and coffee houses, stayed home and played games, gone out to eat, and taken games with us to play at our local McDonald's. But last night was by far my favorite Team Night so far.

Yesterday morning, at 6:36 AM, our 19-year-old neighbor gave birth to her third child, a baby boy named Ky'Ree. We knew in advance that the baby would either be born on Tuesday or Wednesday this week, and we knew that our Team Night was going to be on Wednesday. We were hoping that the mother and baby would still be in the hospital on Wednesday night so we could go visit; it turns out that it worked out perfectly for us to do that!

Our house is really close to the Texas Medical Center, and our neighbor had her baby at one of the hospitals in the Med Center. Therefore we were able to take a short (30 minute) bus ride to the hospital after we got home from work and had a quick dinner. We took the elevator to the 6th floor, and then we realized we didn't know our neighbor's last name. Fortunately our other friend who lives with her answered her phone and told us so the nurses would let us in :) We quickly found the room where the mother and baby were resting, and there we were greeted by the baby's father and his grandparents. Everyone seemed so surprised to see us! We had told them we wanted to visit, but I don't think they expected us to actually show up!

All six of us crowded into the room and surrounded the bassinet to see this precious little boy who had just entered the world. I had never seen a newborn baby in person before; it blew my mind to realize that this tiny little person had only been in the world for about 14 hours. We each took turns holding him, amazed at how soft he was, how tiny he was, and entertained by all of his funny facial expressions. We spent time talking and joking with the proud mom and dad, and it was a really sweet bonding experience with them. We haven't been as close to them as with some of our other neighbors, mostly because the mother has been working so much before Ky'Ree came. But last night I feel like we established a new level of friendship with both of them.

When visiting hours were almost over and we had taken a ton of pictures, we asked if we could pray for the three of them before we left. So we circled around and held hands, with the baby nestled between his sweet parents, and we prayed for this beautiful new baby and his mom and dad. We gave hugs and were about to leave, and then the father said to us with a smile, "Wow, y'all really kept your word. You said you were going to come, and you actually came! Y'all are good people."

As we rode the bus back home from the hospital, I thought a lot about what I had just experienced. It was such a life-giving and joy-filled experience, yet it was such a simple gesture. It reminded me of the importance of simple things in loving people. I think we often feel the need to do some extravagant thing to show love to others, when it can sometimes be the simplest things that show the most love.

Today is the last day to make a donation to support my Mission Year experience and receive a sweet t-shirt in return. Please consider giving a gift of $50, $65, or $100 today. 

www.missionyear.org/love

(designate Cara Eads from drop-down menu)