A local resident named David, who is volunteering with the Franklin Graham Festival de Esperanza (Festival of Hope) this weekend, recounts the flood:
“You could only see the rooftops,” he says. “People climbed up there. It was 11:00 at night, and everything was dark. There was no electricity. People were shouting for help.”
During the flood, families lived in the elementary school for weeks; but now the community is almost restored.
David brought us out to the school today to witness a surprise that Festival volunteers have for the school’s 185 students, grades one through six. The children don’t know about the surprise, but when they see a car full of six, colorful clowns drive onto the dirt road in front of the school, they wander out of their classrooms and into the courtyard, whispering to each other.
The school is located in one of Villahermosa’s poorest neighborhoods and is built around an old city dump. Most of the parents of children who attend the Benito Juarez School work in the garbage, sorting out valuable items such as aluminum cans and exchanging them for money.
“Even the kids do that sometimes,” says the school principal.
David says the Festival de Esperanza is happening at the perfect time. People in and around Villahermosa, the capital of Tabasco, have recovered from the flood, but they need encouragement. More than one-third of Mexico’s population lives in poverty.
Working with Samaritan’s Purse since April, Festival volunteers have been distributing Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes to children in areas of Tabasco that the flood hit the hardest. And here at the Benito Juarez Elementary School, teachers ask the children to line up according to classes in the courtyard for a special event.
The principal climbs on the outdoor and says, “We’re having an event today. These people have brought you a lot of surprises, and we hope you like everything.”
Then the clowns jump onstage in their oversized, brightly colored shoes and start leading the kids in songs and dances: one where they mimic a pollo, or chicken, and another where they act like monkeys.
After several dances and funny skits, one of the clowns begins to tell a story. The children sit down on the dusty ground to listen:
“There are cheap gifts and expensive gifts,” the clown says. “All gifts have a price. There is one gift that is so expensive that even the richest man in the world couldn’t buy it. It has a high price. Only one man has been able to pay that price, and that man is Jesus.
“Do you know what it cost Him?” she asks. “It cost Him pain. He took a crown of thorns on his head–but not only that. He took a spear in His side and nails in His hands and feet. God knew that we needed this gift so we could be with Him.”
She explains that Jesus is a mediator between people, who are sinful, and God, who is holy.
“The gift of Jesus Christ is priceless,” she says.
After the story, the clowns hand each child a shoebox full of small gifts. They tell the children that the boxes are from families who love God and who wanted to share a gift with them. All of the clowns are volunteers with the Festival de Esperanza, where they will entertain crowds at Festiniños, the Festival’s children’s event on Saturday morning.
After all the children have boxes, it’s time to open them; many of the boxes contain stuffed animals, candy, stickers, footballs and crayons. Lorena, who is 12-years-old, says she likes the crayons the best, but her favorite part of the program was the chicken dance. Then she says that the story about Jesus was “beautiful.”
The clowns tell the children about Festiniños and pass out informational brochures for them to take home to their families. Migel, also 12-years-old, says he “never expected” that this would happen at school today. He plans to go to Festiniños.
The community anticipates that more than 40,000 people will attend the Festival this weekend to hear a message of hope from Franklin Graham and to celebrate the most precious gift, one available to all who accept it–the gift of Jesus Christ.
Read more about the Franklin Graham Festival of Hope Villahermosa! »
Check billygraham.org all weekend for continuous updates from the Festival of Hope in Villahermosa, Mexico!
