The service was ended. Felipe had done his
thing, the kids and adults alike had been delighted. I had finished my
message and the time of prayer around the altar had ended. People were
greeting one another. Someone pushed this little girl’s wheelchair to the
front. With a big smile she handed me a little folded paper. I
glanced at it, gave her a kiss on the cheek, thanked her and posed for this
picture with her.
After I got back to my hotel I pulled the folded paper
out of my pocket again and looked more closely at her work of art.
Suddenly I realized that this was a portrait of me holding Felipe in my right
arm.
I can clearly make out Felipe’s two eyes and his mouth
in a big smile. My face is not so detailed, but I do have two obvious
feet. Felipe has his two legs too.
A moment ago I called Pastor Esteban Morales to
inquire about her. Her name is Iriel. Her brain was starved for
oxygen at birth. She speaks some and apparently has limited
understanding. But Jesus loves her just as much as He loves me or any of
us and one day in His heaven she will walk and talk and probably sing in God’s
choir.
“Thank you, Darling Iriel, for this portrait of me and
Felipe. I shall cherish it.”
Grandpa Rafael
