Zona Norte

The evening air was pleasant as our group walked down the streets in the red light district of Tijuana. As we walked around downtown Tijuana we were praying for the city and the people we met. Occasionally we would hand out tracks printed in Spanish to prostitutes and homeless, and invite them to come get free hot chocolate and cookies.
Two things happened that struck me. The first was as we came to an intersection. A man, who looked homeless, was pushing a shopping cart full of wooden and plastic crates. He started to cross the street and as he did so his cart leaned over to one side and three crates fell off the top of his pile. I stepped up and picked up two of the crates that fell. “What the f**k did you do that for?” was not the response that I was expecting but was what I received! The man continued to say something but I couldn’t understand if it was English or Spanish that he was speaking. My friend gave him a tract and invited him for hot chocolate and cookies. I didn’t see him again but what struck me was the way he reacted to a simple act of kindness. Either he was drunk or he was not used to kindness or it could have been both. The fact that it could be he was not used to being treated with kindness filled me with sadness and a wish to be able to reach out to him and people like him more.
The second thing that happened reminded me how unfair this world is. Our group stopped to talk to a young woman and her daughter who were begging on the street. The mother looked worried; you could see it written on her face and in her eyes. You could see the daily struggle to support her family in the thin smile she gave you to be polite, and the slump of her shoulders as people walked by without noticing. Her beautiful little daughter was full of life when we visited with her. Guadalupe was her name and she had a beautiful smile that reached up into her eyes! She seemed so happy as she showed me her shawl that covered her shoulders and as she played peek-a-boo around her mother. She was so excited about hot chocolate that my friend Amy could not understand her because her words turned into gibberish. Seeing such an innocent sweet child light up with an act of kindness made my day. Knowing that we can affect adults and children with simple acts of kindness is an encouragement to us all. Anyone can encourage someone by a simple act of kindness. It may make their day you never know!