To get to Stone Island, one has to pile into small boats that ferry you across the water. Half of the area is affluent and being developed into a resort community.
The other half is in poverty. The colonial is in the center of the poverty half. This is also the colonial that Vineyard Community Church has invested and helped to build up over the past several years.
When we arrived at the building, there were already people lined up in anticipation for the medical team to arrive. Unfortunately, there were not a lot of kids yet and the medical team asked for us to go outside to ensure that we did not draw kids into the building as they were setting up. So, Paco and Isabella helped to canvass the area as Felix worked on painting her face.
Over the past several days, Felix would take her daughters to school at 8 am, ride the bus 45 minutes to the church with her 2 year-old and 10 year-old sons to La Vina Mazatlan, clown the full 8-10 hour day, before riding the bus back home. During that time she had perfected her make-up and had run out of some of the paint. So, we had to improvise and she did not have the opportunity to put it on until we arrived at the colonial.
When Paco and Isabella arrived back at the church, we found Felix already in the designated clown area surrounded by kids. I was surprised to see that our clown had jumped straight into character. I was exceedingly proud of how far she had come in a short amount of time. She has a God-given natural talent to clown and to spread joy.
We did two clown programs at Stone Island. The first program was for a small group of children in the morning. Part of the idea was to show Felix the skits and then incorporate her during the second program.
Our last skit of the show is one that Lolli & Pop used to perform where a clown has a giant hole in paper heart they hold up. They try to fill it with various things but nothing can fill the heart until they open a Bible and find the missing piece with the word Jesus or “Cristo” printed across it. In the first show, the cd player randomly stopped but Felix jumped in and began to help narrate and got the kids involved in what we were doing. As I would hold up a medal, the kids would shout how it would not fill the heart just as I dropped it through the hole.
The second show was scheduled to occur right after the rest of the local children were released from school and after the medical team was packed up. The goal was to complete the clown show, distribute donated new shoes to the children, and feed the community all before 6 pm. By this time, Jorge had arrived and helped to translate the clown show as well.
Jorge started the clown show and it was amazing to see him get the kids and adults fully engaged in what was occurring onstage. By the time he had finished, everyone was fully drawn in to what the clowns were about to do. We began the skit and Jorge narrated each idea that Paco brought to attempt to fill the heart. All the while, Felix sat reading the prop Bible and watching. When Paco had exhausted his ideas, Felix opened the Bible and gave Isabella the missing heart piece. She did an amazing job helping get the kids involved all day and carried out her part beautifully.
Afterwards the shoe and meal distribution began and Felix pulled me aside to ask me a question. She wanted to know when we would go to her colonial, Dona Chonita. I had to tell her that I was leaving the following day but that was why we had come. To teach and to equip her to perform it at her church and to move the ministry forward even after we left.