its been way too long. im sorry for not posting sooner…but i finally was able to take some pictures to show you a little of our ministry here…
the hospital/orphanage we are working with is called Hermano Pedro. we have been working with the mentally handicapped patients, and although it has honestly been very hard for me…i can see why God brought us to this place. these kids might get to go outside once a year. its rare that someone just sits and talks to them…even though they cannot talk back. the few that can come out of their wheelchair seldomly do because there is no one there to hold them.
sam is 6 years old, and just learned to walk 5 days ago. they also have a regular schedule of when they change them. 8am. 12pm. & 4pm. so there are many many times each day, that they literally have to sit in a wet diaper because it is not time to be changed. and these are not babies im talking about…kids from the ages of 6-18.
the hospital is two blocks away from where we are staying so we just walk there during the day. today, with the help of a regular volunteer named dick, we were able to take 5 of the older girls out to lunch. he really exemplifed the meaning of unconditional love to me as he wholeheartedly embraced each and every kid. i kind of stood back at first, and just observed. maybe a little scared? and not long after, was walking down the street…holding their hands.
the man who we joined in with in taking these girls out to lunch is a full-time volunetter with hope haven. its an organization that builds and provides wheelchairs for those who are in need. they travel all around and into desolate villages in order to reach everyone. since 1992, they have donated 45,000 wheelchairs. many of these are broken or ancient when donated to the organization and they turn them around into looking brand new. they also are working with prison mates who help them refurbish the chairs. it was such a joy to share in his passion. it even opened my eyes more to the depths of Gods love and the desires He puts into our hearts…
this afternoon we took a chicken bus to a nearby town and joined up with a group called the world changers. they have a kids outreach every tuesday afternoon and needed help with the program. when we arrived, there was already a line of kids waiting outside. my first thought was …. man, why can’t i have that excitement. (ok…really it was, how can they be so early when i cant even be on time if my life depended on it?) anyways, we squeezed through them and went inside. it was only seconds later before they couldnt wait any longer and busted through the closed doors. they rushed to our sides, and the leaders told us we could just sit and hang out with them while they finished preparing. so we did just that. soon after we sat on the ground, our lap was full.
they began with one of the guys getting all the kids riled up and then he did a back flip in the air. next we sang some songs, and then Rosa told them the story of Noah while using a felt board. after that, they did a drama which held all the kids attention so well. i was quite impressed! when this was over, she got back on the microphone and recapped the story. she asked the kids to close their eyes and if any of them wanted to accept Jesus into their hearts, to repeat after her. the thing that happened next will only bring tears to your eyes. i turned my head to the left. then to the right. and peeked behind me. there were about 60 little ones (ages ranging from about 3-9) with their eyes squinted shut, their hair in messy pony tails, clothes filthy dirty…but were sincerely repeating after Rosa…praying to accept Christ.
this really got me thinking too…God doesnt care what we look like. what state we are in, or where we just came from. He only wants our hearts…authentically. we really do need to “be like little children” and secure that trust and free-spirit that you find in kids. sometimes we just make things too complicated. this even brought me back to a quote that i had heard this morning…
“Most people are bothered by those passages of scripture they dont understand, but for me i have always noticed that the passages that bother me are those I do understand.” Mark Twain
so after this, we broke off into groups and colored paper arks. they loved it, and so did we. we played. we laughed. and then they got a snack and left. we will be heading back there next tuesday. tomorrow we are heading back to the hospital. i am taking my Bible to read to them. (oh, and we were only able to take pics this afternoon because we were out of the building…there arent any allowed inside). thursday, we are heading to the “dump” to minister to families and kids who live there. friday, will be back at the hospital.
OH…and I was offered to climb the volcano in antigua with a group of guys on saturday. HAHA. although part of me wants that challenge again…i think i know better right now. 🙂
i have to mention how sweet the boys were to us girls today! we woke up this morning with a rose and a candy bar laying next to our pillow. paul and elliot had gone out late last night in search of these, and then woke up early to place them beside us. 🙂 such sweet boys…hehe. we also were given a beautiful gerber daisy and a little baggie of hershey kisses from abner (who runs the coffee shop). needless to say, we definitely made out on this valentines day 🙂
im also learning to play the guitar…im hoping to bust out a little john mayer by the time the year is finished. 🙂
“Not for us…but HIS name be the glory”
all my love…
