
Published: 21st of November, 2022
Last updated: December 17, 2022 at 2:05 amArthur was the little boy (about 8 years old), whom I had met a few months back while living in the city of Campo Verde, Mato Grosso – where I had spent 2.5 years from mid 2020 to late 2022. This kid had asked me to purchase some sweets from the nearby food shop for him. Most obviously, it was a blessing to do so, and in the weeks ahead, whenever he saw me, Arthur was sure to draw on my generosity by asking for little financial or shopping favors.
But soon, it was time for me to leave the city. On the last day of my stay, while I was packing my suitcases to travel, Arthur showed up in front of my home. I knew this was the last day I would see him, and we would not be seeing each other again for – God knows how long. As a result, I dolled out a generous financial gift and gave it to Arthur. His eyes lit up in wonder as he exclaimed “cem reais”! Very likely, Arthur had never received a financial gift of this magnitude so “off the bat” in his life.
I told Arthur that that day was the last day I would be seeing him because I was preparing to travel. Arthur gleefully shook my hand, gave me a touch, a high five, a hug, and wished me a good voyage back home.
During my stay in Campo Verde, I had the honor of blessing the life of this lad in a material way, but I gave him something more. I left a few words of advice for him that last day I saw him. I said, “Arthur, there are good and bad people in the world. And you need to be careful when you take things from strangers, because people don’t always have good intentions.”
I explained to Arthur that he needs to let his parents know if anyone is giving him gifts or money, especially a stranger, because people could use that opportunity to draw him into a life of crime, kidnap him, or do some other evil act to him. Arthur signaled that he understood.
As I parted ways with Arthur that day, I left with the contentment that my small gifts to him over the months had blessed his life. And even more, I left with the hope that the gift of my words would take root in his mind and grow into wisdom – wisdom that hopefully will make him cautious and protect him from men and women who had missed the meaning of life, who give things to others for all the wrong reasons, who take back with their left hand more than their right hand gives, who pretend to do acts of kindness but are genuinely incapable of doing so…because, as we all know, the world is full of such.