God really knows me! This my first month with not only a brand new team but also serving as the team leader. By the end of debrief, my mind was already a bit fuzzy from all the changes and new responsibilities on the horizon. But then we received our ministry assignments. My team would spend the first 10 days in an orphanage 5 minutes from the beach. I mean come on….does God know to take care of me or what. I couldn’t have imagined a better place to ease me into my new role and my new family.
Montanita Verde is a beautiful place right outside of the larger city of Manta, Ecuador. The children’s home currently houses 8 beautiful children that are either there temporarily or living there more permanently. The missionaries, Will & Amanda Eason, we served with are working tirelessly to keep the home open, as they have had some setbacks with administration and government involvement. This family is the real deal and I am confident the Lord is going to bless their efforts.
The team with the Eason Family
Click Here for their Facebok Page
While at the home, our primary jobs included getting the grounds up to code for a government check coming this month. These tasks included deep cleaning the house, building guardrails, clearing out bodegas, painting dressers, and sorting through donated items for usable clothes and toys. While these tasks typically took up majority of our time, we also got to spend the afternoons and some evenings with the kids.
Cleaning toys
Now more about the kiddos. They are precious. When I looked into their eyes, hugged their little bodies, kissed their cheeks, and spoke every Spanish word I could muster, I could see the tangible love of Jesus. Hearing some of their back stories made me sick to my stomach. I spent many nights there angry, crying, and venting to my teammate about how messed up this world is and how much I hate Satan for trying to rob these beautiful children of their innocence. But the second I saw their faces in the morning before they went to school or when I would walk into their house in the evenings, and when I heard them yelling, “Tia, Tia,” I no longer saw them through lenses of their pasts. I didn’t see kids who were abused, abandoned, or broken. I just saw Jesus. I saw Him when they worshipped at night, singing “Tú eres todo, poderoso, eres grande y majestuoso” at the top of their lungs. I saw it when they would pass around a naranja to each other, making sure everyone got a bite. I saw Him when glimpses of their innocence would return in their eyes as I passed my camera around and let them video tape each other. Or when my little buddy would ask to wear my glass and would beam with pride when I called him professor.
Painting Nails with the little girls
I don’t want to paint an unrealistic picture. These kids have gone through some serious life events. They have been exposed to way too much and therefore their behavior is often a reflection of this trauma. But, I serve a God who can restore broken hearts, renew minds, and heal the most vicious wounds. I believe that He has placed these children here for a specific purpose and I’m blessed that I had the opportunity to see a glimpse of how much he loves His children.
My focus for the 10 days was not to change the circumstances of those children’s lives. Although, if I could I would have put them all in my backpack and called it a day. But, my job was to serve the people who are taking are for them, the people who have been called to stand in the gap for the parents who couldn’t. I was there to show the children that God cares so much about them that he would send 6 Americans and 1 Canadian to work to make sure they had a safe environment to live in. He sent me there to love all over them and tell them every day that Jesus loves them. I’m glad He send me!
