I wanted to title this blog, “What about Bob,” but I wasn’t
sure how many of my younger readers would get the reference. So I didn’t. (that’s
right. I pulled an Old Person joke. Snake Eyes.)
Team Beloved and I have been hanging out at a ministry
called “Mi Casa” here in El Salvador. This ministry is aimed at helping young
children and youth have a better life. You could call it an orphanage, but it’s
not really. This place is a home, with a loving family. The kids that live in
the two houses are well fed, well taught, and well loved. It is really neat to
be here to see the family dynamics. We are staying in the girls house, where
about nine girls live, and right across the street is the Boy’s house and the
office.
When we first arrived, it became clear that this is a place
of love and acceptance. We walked in the front door, and the very first thing I
noticed was my picture on the wall. They had printed out some pictures from my
blog and facebook page, along with the other girls on my team. I was kind of
taken back, since it was not only my first day at this ministry, it was also my
first day with Team Beloved.
While looking at my picture, I felt like I heard God say, “You
are known, wanted, and loved.”
This feeling became even more clear once we got the chance
to talk to our contact, Bob. He’s from Oregon, but I could have sworn he was
God.
Ok, don’t throw up the “Heresy Hand” yet. For the first
couple of days I just sat back and observed the girls’ interaction with Bob, and
I was blown away. These kids, they aren’t Bob’s children. They come from broken
homes and life on the street. However, these children treat Bob like he was their father. Not an adopted father as we may
have come to expect in the States. No, the relationship he has with these girls
is like a biological father SHOULD have with his children.
I can’t even begin to tell you how beautiful it is. I was
showing the girls my sketch pad the other day, (something that usually
captivates kids, especially the older
ones), and I heard Bob’s voice downstairs. IMMEDIATELY I watched as ALL of the
girls’ eyes lit up, and some of them shouted “Tio Bob!” and tore downstairs to
greet him. Even Gabo, the eldest, gave me my sketchpad, and said, “Un Momento.”
And went to say hello to her father.
They call him “Daddy.” In english. They sit on his lap, they
hug him and kiss him, they approach him fearlessly. Some of the girls are even
grounded, and when I asked Bob about what they did wrong, he simply laughed when
he told me. It is COMPLETELY OBVIOUS how much Bob delights in these girls. To
the point, that if weren’t told they were once orphans, you’d never know.
So my point, in calling Bob “God”.. is because in a way, he is
a type of Father God to these children. I have never understood what the spirit
of adoption was before I came here. When I read about “adoption” in the bible,
I used to balk at the term, because that means at some point I was an orphan. I
wasn’t wanted. Yet being here, in this place, I now realize how much redemption
there is in being adopted by God.
I wasn’t His, but He still wanted me. He loves me, wants me
to approach Him fearlessly, because I am His daughter. His DAUGHTER. He loves me and delights in me EVEN when I sin. Dare I
say, ESPECIALLY when I sin, because God looks at me and is able to say, “Well.
I wish you hadn’t of done that. Let’s not do that again.” He disciplines me for
MY good. I am entitled to everything in HIS house, not because I’ve done
anything special to “deserve” it, but simply because He loves me. HE. LOVES.
ME.
I’ve never felt so at home at times as when Bob has come in
the front door, and he greets me the same way as he greets everyone else. “Buenos
Dias.” And a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
For someone who has doubted a father’s love before, I’ve
never felt more like a daughter.
Thanks Bob.
