Happiness

During one of the weekends I was in Mozambique, we traveled to a remote village that was so far off the beaten path that we barely made it.  Our team was packed into the back of the big green truck and after a few hours, we turned off of a main road.  The path became very bumpy and the truck slowed way down to keep from throwing us all out of the vehicle as it plowed over huge dips in the dirt road.  Do you remember those monster toy truck commercials where the kid is driving a remote control truck around the huge dirt mounds?  The toy truck kicks up dust as it gets airborne and flies through the yard.  Well, that is probably what we looked like.  At least, that is how it felt.

We finally, and thankfully, made it to our destination.  As we drove through the center of the village and parked the big vehicle, I noticed kids kicking balls around and adults standing in groups.  I imagined they were discussing the day's events and speculating about the visitors that they heard would be coming.  The people from the village were different than the others I had encountered.  This time, instead of kids running up to the truck and screaming with excitement, everyone kept their distance and eyed those of us peering from inside the truck bed.  I wondered what they were thinking as they stood in their small groups and continued to watch our every move.  

We climbed out of the truck and a feeling of uncertainty came over me.  I had heard that sometimes people can react with aggression or anger when people come into their village, even if the team is expected.  I watched the leaders of our group to gauge their level of comfort.  Suddenly, one of the other volunteers walked up to a ball on the ground and kicked it toward a group of kids.  One of the boys shyly cracked a smile and kicked it back, tentatively.  After a minute, the balls were flying all over the place.  I jumped in and began playing soccer with 3 boys.  We kicked back and forth, racing to get the ball before it hit the adults or ran down a hill.  We began smiling, laughing and shouting with excitement as the ball would get accidentally launched across the village gathering place.  The entire atmosphere changed from tense uncertainty to light-hearted fun.

As I kicked and ran around in my long wrap skirt and sandals, I couldn't contain the happiness I felt inside.  What a gift!  What pure joy to be connecting with these beautiful kids through a game of soccer.  The feeling just welled up inside of me so strongly.  After a short time, the game came to a lull and I wanted to find out the names of these children who had filled my heart.  I knew enough Macua to ask them.  The oldest boy responded "Alegria".  

My jaw dropped.  The world stopped around me as I realized the magnitude of the gift I had just been given.  I had just been playing soccer with a boy whose name means "happiness" or "joy".  Alegria would never know the significance of his name and how he impacted me that day.

Joy.  Happiness.  Alegria.

Alegria is the tall boy with the tan shirt in the middle.  You can see another boy holding a ball.  The kids there don't have real soccer balls, but they will not be stopped.  They are creative enough to use what they have.  They take a ton of plastic bags, scrunch them up into a round ball and tie string around them.  This is how they make their own and they work just fine.