"Cosmos Fields"

The flame that is Cosmos Fields started as a spark in 2015. It was my first trip to the country of Cambodia. I was 12 years old and it was my first trip to a third world country. It was an amazing trip and I have many fond memories of the sights I saw, but the one memory that stood out the most was of a little girl in the streets. 

I remember her selling little toys and tourist items with other children and I can recall that feeling of action and service being put into me by God. I had asked my mom and dad if we could buy one or two of those little souvenirs from her to give her that much more money for the day. Our tour guide then told me that in reality, it isn't the children that receive what they earn but they're forced to give the money back to an adult that controls the children in exchange for candy, so buying the items wouldn't have helped the girl. I still wanted to serve this girl in God's name and decided that the most helpful way to do so was to give her a shirt that was too small for me that I had packed unknowingly. But, I was shy. Scared of interaction and confrontation with the unknown, so I asked my father to give the shirt to her for me. But, the best decision that my father made that day was when he urged me to give her the shirt myself, saying that neither she nor I would ever forget that exchange. When I did give her the shirt, pretty as it was with white fabric and white beads embroidered onto it, I remember the look on her face, unsure at first if she could take it, but after receiving her gift, pure joy and happiness. I'm sure my own face was just as happy, my first act of physical service in the name of God! Two years have passed and I still think about that girl to this day. Did she wear the shirt often? Did she think about the girl who gave her that shirt? Did she ever silently thank the girl in her mind for her gift? The warmth that I feel for that girl and the tiny service I provided helped fan the spark of Cosmos fields into a growing flame. I had taken the next step of service by creating service of my very own. I began researching and preparing and working towards my goal of touching the lives of at least one other person without sponsors, donating money, or praying. To this day, I am still improving and adding onto my idea of my own service.