“My Mama did not want me.”
“My Papa, he did not want me.”
“they did every mean thing to me. They hit me, they said bad things.”
“My Papa he didn’t want me and he made me leave.”
“My Mama she made me live on the streets.”
“I slept on the street. I ate on the street. I didn’t all things on the street.”
This is Daniels story as he told it to me in broken sentences. Daniel is a 15 year old with special needs. He is in the 4th grade at a special school in Guatemala. The odds were against him with a family that did not care for him. He was forced to beg and live on the street but then He says with a smile…
“I lived on the streets and that’s where He (God) spoke to me. He brought me here and now I know Jesus. I get food, I have a bed.”
He literally gets so excited he throws his hands in the air and jumps up and down
“Now I sing, Now I am happy! Now I know Jesus and I am a good boy, I’m not mean anymore.”
Daniel is constantly lifting his hands and singing to God. He is FULL of joy. He is the perfect example of what the Bible means when it talks about child-like faith.
At one point the orphanage was moving and Daniel was praying for a new house. He told the director of the orphanage, Maureen, that he had a dream about a house that Jesus took him to. When they moved into the beautiful new orphanage everyone was confused why Daniel was SO depressed. It took them a while to finally get it out of him but when Daniel finally discussed his dream they realized its wasn’t an earthly home at all!
He said that Jesus brought him into a house and it was beautiful, much more beautiful than the house he was in now. Then there was a room where a girl they knew was preaching and telling people about Jesus and everyone in the room was saying YES! And AMEN! And he said “she was preaching so good! Everyone was so happy and there was Jesus with me.”
Maureen explained to him that what he was describing was heaven. He said that’s where he wanted to go and asked how to get there. Maureen lovingly explained to him that he has to wait until it is his time to die and then Jesus will take him there. He said that he wanted to die. Maureen told him that it didn’t really work that way, he would have to wait in anticipation for that day.
There have been children in the orphanage since then who have passed away, He is excited for them and cant wait to see them someday.
