Giving and Offering

I remember hearing that male role models are fairly rare in the church in Peru.  On our recent trip there, I wanted to see if I could involve some of the men in participating in a Bible school we help put on in Chimbote.  I found a gentleman kind of hanging out at the back of the make shift room where we were holding the Bible school.  Through nonverbal communication, I got him to help hand out coloring pages and markers.  He really had a good time and was quite proud to help contribute.  Towards the end of the session the head honcho asked me to hand out cookies as the children departed.  "Give them two cookies--no more--because we might not have enough."  I found my new found friend to help hand them out.  I was first told not to give him any cookies because they were just for the children.  I finally explained that I wasn't giving them to him, but that he was helping hand them out.  

What was interesting was: I was handing out the cookies.  I was in control.  I made sure nobody got too many or more than their share.  My Peruvian partner, though, took a different tack.  Rather than hand out the cookies, he offered the cookies.  Nobody seemed to take more than two and he sure seemed to have more joy in his offering than I had in my handing out.

I wonder about all the joy all around in the poverty stricken areas of Peru where we worked.  I got a clue into maybe why as I was handing out the cookies.  

There is more joy in offering than in handing out.