Have you ever witnessed the happiest moment of someone’s
life? Have you ever been the one to deliver the best news a person has
received? Let me tell you, it’s a great feeling.
Right now I am back in Guatemala visiting my friends and the
kids at Casa Bernabe, the orphanage where I worked last summer. There are many
reasons why I love it here, but one of the biggest is the daily potential to
make these children happy. Casa Bernabe is a very special place where over 150
children who come from traumatic situations of abuse, abandonment, and sadness
are loved and cared for. All the children live in houses, divided up by age,
and have house parents who take them in as their own children. The second layer
of love that the children receive is through the sponsorship program. People
can choose a child to sponsor, send gifts and letters to, and visit when they
can. All the children are equally loved and provided for, but the ones who have
sponsors get that extra special feeling that someone specifically chose them to
invest in and adore. Even though they are young, the kids know if they have
sponsors or not, and it is a very important thing to them.
After being here for two months and falling in love with the
children of Casa Bernabe, I talked to my parents and we decided to sponsor a
little girl who I spent a lot of time with. All the other children in the house
where I worked know that I sponsor her, and although they are happy for her,
they also want to be the one who was chosen. The other day I was sitting with
one of the boys from that house, talking to him. He asked me if I only sponsor
her, and I explained that although I can only sponsor her, I love them all
equally. He looked up at me and said, “I don’t have a sponsor. I’m getting
older now so no one will choose me. I don’t have any family either, and no one
to visit me on visiting days. I don’t have anyone.” Talk about ripping my heart
out and stomping on it! I tried to explain to him that he is very loved by
everyone at Casa Bernabe. He has house parents who love him and fifteen
“siblings” to live with. I told him that most of all, God loves him and placed
him at Casa Bernabe to be loved and protected. “I know,” he said, “but I want
someone to choose me and be my sponsor.” I told him that maybe one day that would
happen, but even if it didn’t, it doesn’t mean that no one loves him.
After that conversation I was so sad and all I wanted to do
was get on a plane, go home, and find every child a loving sponsor. We have so
much money to spare in America and so much love that we should spread around. I
wanted to fix the problem but I couldn’t see how that was possible. I
especially wanted to find this particular boy a sponsor because he has had such
a hard life. When he first came to Casa Bernabe, he was terrified of men and
would spit on, bite, or hit people who tried to come near him. His time here
has helped him begin to heal, and I have watched him grow to love and trust his
house father, which I wrote about in a previous blog. When the children get older, it is especially hard to find them sponsors because everyone likes to choose the sweet babies and toddlers. Of all the children who I
have come to know, he is the one I most wanted to see loved and singled out
because he really needs it.
My talk with him left me really sad and discouraged that I
could not help every child and give them all the important feeling of being
chosen. I prayed that someone would see something special in this little boy
and pick him over all the adorable babies and smiling toddlers. I prayed that
they would see past his aggressive behavior to the moments where he lays his
head on your shoulder and tells you he loves you, and choose him. I wanted to
be the one to do that, or at least be here to see it happen, but I knew that I’m
getting on a plane on Tuesday and joining the ranks of people who have loved
him and left him, so I prayed that someone would come after me and make him
feel special.
Last night I received an email from the woman who
coordinates the sponsorship program, telling me that her daughter and son in
law had decided to sponsor this little boy. She told me that I should tell him
since I am here, and I couldn’t wait.
This evening I was at the house having a party with the kids
and I decided that was a good time to tell him. After telling the house mom and
seeing her joy, I pulled him aside and told him I had something important to
tell him. I explained that someone chose him and wants to sponsor him, and he
covered his face. I asked if he understood, but he buried his head in my lap so
I repeated myself. He kept his face covered with his head in my lap, and his
whole body was shaking. I asked him if he was ok, lifted his head, and uncovered
his face. He was laughing and crying at the same time, so overcome with emotion
that he didn’t know what to do with himself. I asked him if he was happy and he
nodded excitedly and continued to laugh and cry. I have never seen anyone so
overwhelmed with happiness that they simply could not decide what to do. He
just stood there smiling and shaking his head. All the other kids were so
excited for him, and my mom and the house moms were crying because we were all
sure that we had just witnessed that happiest moment of this little boy’s hard
life. Finally someone chose him.
This is him when I was here in July.
This is us the other day, right before the conversation I wrote about.
I am looking at the sponsorship board right now in the
dining room at Casa Bernabe, and I see pictures of at least 37 children who
still need sponsors. If you are interested in being the person to choose one of
these children, love and support them, and make them as happy as this little
boy, visit www.foce.org or contact me through
the link on the left side of this page. After seeing his face tonight, I can’t
imagine anything more worth doing than letting these children know how special they
are.
