The Impact of Service

By Elizabeth Horton

Service, often times, is the exact opposite of what it’s expected to be. Though that may sound strange, we go into service expecting to give, but sometimes, we end up receiving more ourselves! I lived out this truth while on my Impact trip to Northern Borneo. I had full intentions to give up my time and energy to make some sort of difference in a stranger’s life. What I didn't expect was for those strangers to leave a permanent impact on my heart.

                On January 23rd, a team of 11 Dalat students touched down in Northern Borneo for their Impact trip. Throughout the week they would run a beach activity day for handicapped children, dig mountain bike trails, and visit a children's hospital. Most of the trip was spent working in the jungle, but for one morning the team got to play with the children at a local hospital.  

When we reached the hospital, we split into groups and were assigned different rooms. In my room, I chose the first bed on the left. Perched in his mother’s lap, a small boy, around 2-3 years old, looked up at me with his big brown eyes dressed in cute pajamas. Since he didn’t speak English, communication was difficult. Multiple times he turned around and would cry into his mother’s embrace, however, I didn’t give up. While he was still unsure whether to trust me, I quickly folded him a paper airplane with his name, Khalid, and favorite color, red, on it.

That was it!

That was all it took!

In a matter of minutes, Khalid, had transformed into a completely different child. Dancing around the hospital room, throwing his paper airplane in every direction, giggles and squeals echoing off the stark walls; he had finally opened up. I made a couple more planes which he gleefully proceeded to launch at other helpers. Pretty soon the confines of the hospital room became too restrictive. Suddenly, the two of us were disrupting other rooms with our paper airplane battle!

                As we took our battle back into the hallway, an unidentified aircraft glided towards us. An ally, a little girl peeked out from behind a door frame, and I beckoned for her to join! Eli Davis had been having a similar airplane battle with the little girl! We joined forces and doubled the volume of our laughs and giggles. Staff from all over the hospital gathered to watch the spectacle! It reminded Eli and I of what it felt like to be kids. “Being with the kids helped me joke around and have a fun time,” reminisced Davis.

All too soon, it was time for us to leave. As we walked out the door, my heart wrenched. That little boy touched my heart in a profound way I can’t quite explain! We gave them a couple hours of fun, but they gave us something much longer lasting in return, a precious memory and a warmed heart.