I haven’t gotten a chance to sit down to write a blog yet about our ministry this month in Honduras. It’s been a busy month full of bottles, diapers, smiles, laughs, cries, cleaning, laundry, and loving on lots of little ones. This month my team has had the privilege of participating in the crazy life of the Spangler family.
Matt and Marianne Spangler are an American couple from Pennsylvania who have an ever-changing number of children. After having their first two biological children, they began foster parenting back in the States, which led to the adoption of their other three children. Two years ago, they moved their family of seven to Honduras and started taking in babies who have been abandoned. DINAF, basically the children’s services of Honduras call Matt and Marianne whenever they need a place to send a child or baby in emergency situations.
Because their heart is that every child deserves a forever family, they keep all the babies that come to them that don’t have a family to return to. That’s how they got the six Honduran babies and toddler they have had for the past couple years. Those seven are belong in the Spangler family–and they know it. They’ll be officially adopted as soon as legally possible. I plan to follow up this blog with another blog introducing each of the babies so you can see their beautiful faces.
Matt and Marianne realize that they can’t continue taking every baby that needs a family and keeping them forever, so they are working toward creating a foster care system here in Honduras. They are taking steps to start training Hondurans who want to become foster parents and setting up transition houses for children until they can be placed into other forever families. They also run a bilingual preschool where other American missionaries send their preschoolers.
This is their website, if you want to find out more information on their ministry.
http://legacyofhopefoundation.org/
It’s been such a blessing working with this family this month. I am learning so much, and am enjoying getting to love on the babies. I feel like I am getting a taste of parenting to prepare me for motherhood. The first two weeks we were here we were working with DINAF doing painting projects for some families in their program. It ended up being three houses within the same extended family and it was such a sweet time getting to know them and getting to bless them by putting some color on their mud-wall houses. (But that’s another blog for another time).
Last week we were being trained by the staff that works for the Spanglers (you need at least 5 full-time staff to care for five children, a toddler and six babies!). And this week we have completely taken over for the staff so that they can have a Christmas vacation. Our responsibilities include feeding, bathing and dressing the babies, changing diapers, watching/playing with the babies, cleaning the house, doing laundry, cooking breakfast, lunch and snacks for the family, and sorting boxes upon boxes of donated baby clothes and toys. We work from 7:30 or 8:00am until 7:00 or 8:00pm. It’s a lot of work and a lot of hours, but hey, the babies are so worth it. 🙂
This whole month has been a blessing, but today was above and beyond. Marianne got a phone call from DINAF today telling her that there were two newborn baby boys abandoned at the hospital and asking her if she would take them. Although Marianne has been telling everyone she’s full and can’t take any more babies, she can’t say no. Because there’s no laws here in Honduras about car seats, Marianne needed two of us to go with her to hold the babies on the way home from the hospital. Her sister Becca and I got to go with her.
The hospital itself was an interesting experience. The security guards hardly let anyone pass through the hospital entrance, but Marianne was able to get me and Becca through with her. The public hospital was pretty dingy and run-down, and from what I heard from Marianne, I am very thankful that I don’t have to receive health care from there. As we stood there waiting for the nurses to dress the babies (in the clothes Marianne brought for them to wear), we got to talk to another nurse. He filled us in on the babies’ stories.
Hector Manuel was the first one we were given. We think he’s about 10-12 days old. His mother is mentally disabled and has been raped multiple times, Hector being the result of the most recent occurrence. She’s not able to take care of him, so she just left him at the hospital.
Christopher David is the one I carried home. They don’t know much about his mother, other than the fact that she stuck around for three days, coming in to breastfeed him during those days, but then she just stopped coming. He is severely malnourished. The babies don’t get decent treatment at the hospital. No one takes any effort to feed them. Marianne said she wouldn’t be surprised if he hasn’t eaten since those three days his mother breastfed him.
Sadly, Marianne says it’s not uncommon for mothers to abandon their babies here in Honduras. Matt and Marianne have been here for two years and have received nine abandoned babies now. Many of the mothers are minors themselves, are in poverty, or just unprepared to care for their little ones. Marianne also told me that she thinks many young women get pregnant simply because they want to be loved, wanted and needed, even if it’s from a baby. But then they aren’t able to care for them, so they either give them to a family member, or just abandon them.
As soon as little Christopher David was placed in my arms, my heart melted. He is so precious, so sweet, so beautiful. It breaks my heart that he could be so unwanted–that he had to have such a rough start to life. I don’t know his mother’s story, but I imagine she must be in pretty bad shape herself to be desperate enough to abandon her newborn son. I can’t even imagine. I just wanted to hold him forever and never put him down. I want him to know that he is wanted–he is loved. I know he will find that in the Spangler family.
This month I have been struggling with the fight against monotony. As I change diaper after diaper, fold onesie after onesie, give bottle after bottle, I’ve found myself feeling discouraged at times and wondering if all the energy and hours I’ve been exerting are making any significant difference. Taking care of the babies every day is exhausting. And when they won’t eat, or won’t go to bed, or won’t stop crying, it gets frustrating. But picking up Hector and Christopher from the hospital today, hearing their stories, holding them, looking into their eyes, and letting it sink in that they have nowhere else to go, put things into perspective for me. The babies that exhaust me and frustrate me every day are so worth it. Each one of them has a hard story like Hector and Christopher, and they are in desperate need of love. It’s easy to forget that when I am allowing myself to get frustrated and only thinking about how tired I am. It’s wonderful that the babies have Matt and Marianne to take care of them and give them such a good life that I forget they are orphans
God has been working on my heart quite a bit the past couple days and he reminded me that a big part of what I was excited for about the World Race was the opportunity to serve and encourage the ministry hosts I work with in each country. They are the real missionaries–the ones who are here for the long-haul, sticking it out through the monotony of life on the mission field day in and day out. When I was feeling overwhelmed with the 12 hour work days, God pointed out to me that this is Matt and Marianne’s life. Every day. They don’t get a break from the babies. They are theirs. And if I can make their lives easier this month by serving them to the best of my ability, that is an honor.
So despite my poor attitudes at times this month, God has been using me. I am humbled that God still chooses to use me even when I am tired and frustrated and don’t feel like I’m making a difference. God has me here in Honduras this month for good reasons, and I’m glad about it. I’m so blessed to get to spend Christmas with these precious babies.
I love and miss everyone at home and I’m praying you all have a wonderful Christmas! 🙂
