In coming on the World Race, I had expected to reach the “least of these” and go to the poorer areas of the world. It is doubtless that I will experience heartbreaking poverty this year, but when we were placed this month in a suburb of Quito much like the suburbs of America, except that they speak Spanish, I was confused. Then I was asked to teach preschool at a Christian school named after a man known for prosperity gospel and located in a house fit for a king (literally!). I had come on the World Race to run away from teaching and to reach the poor, and these children had well-equipped classrooms with capable teachers and sharp uniforms. Surely, I thought, I was not needed here.
But then I was reminded that God does not make mistakes and that He has me here for a reason.
Yesterday, we went into third grade to do devotions. Cristian from our host family was asking the students what had happened since last week, and they began with typical childhood praises about getting better grades and behaving better at home. Then one by one, they began sharing about their families. One had parents who were divorced and so he does not see his Dad. Another said his Dad is always working and so he doesn’t see him much either. It seemed as though all of the students either came from broken homes or had fathers who were working so much that they did not have time to spend with their children.
I was sitting behind this adorable boy named Carlitos. As he too shared about living in a house with an absent father, I felt called to pray for him. I put my hands on his shoulders and he began crying. I prayed for him for the next 15 minutes or so, telling him that he has a Father in Heaven who loves him very much, but he continued to cry. It broke my heart. Surely every story of a broken home cannot cause me to fall apart, I thought, or I will lose it by the end of this trip, I thought. But then again, I did pray to break my heart for what breaks yours.
This little boy is only seven, he just wants his Daddy to play with him and pay attention to him. I know that in America we have divorce, broken homes, and absent fathers as well. I did not need to come to Ecuador to find a little boy who needs a Dad. But I did need to come here to see that there is need in the midst of what seems like enough. Part of me wants to say it is me that is needed, and be able to just hug that little boy and tell him he is loved and have everything magically be better. But it is not my calling to save the world; Jesus already did that. And it is the love of a perfect Father that is needed, one that will never abandon us and that always has time for us.
So what does our Heavenly Father have to say about the countless children who are growing up today without a Dad? It turns out He cares a great deal. The word “fatherless” is mentioned in the Bible about 30 times, usually in the context of defending and protecting them. This verse is my favorite example of God’s heart for the fatherless:
Psalm 68:5
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows is God in his holy dwelling.
