Well the last full day of work has come way way to quickly for our group. It’s hard to believe that tomorrow at one in the afternoon we’ll be headed back to our homes. Our group has grown in so many ways and we’ve experienced so much, both the good and the bad but all has attributed to a better understanding of how God wants us to live. We can’t thank Him enough for these things.
The day started off with me waking up and rolling over to see a chicken looking at me in my bed. We had bought a chicken and a rooster for Elba and her family and someone got the bright idea to wake me up with it. Again we started with an amazing home cooked meal at 7:30. Shortly after we sat together as a group to reflect on the previous day. We needed a little more time to digest the events because they were so drastically different to what we were used to. It’s awesome to see God at work within the members of our group and it felt like his presence was especially strong during the devotional. Vince asked if we could be quiet for a moment and just let him speak to us and that we should write down anything that we felt he was saying. Three of us wrote down verses from Isaiah and all were meaningful to us. Coincidence?... I think not.
We left after the devo and traveled to the Warehouse where we picked up toothbrushes and a few games for the boys at the 21 of October orphanage. There are towns, buildings, and organizations with the date as the name and we think that it’s when they started but we’re not exactly sure. The orphanage housed forty-eight boys starting at the age of 12 and went to the age of 18. For some of us it was a little more intimidating because it’s easy enough to relate to little kids but how could we relate to teens, but let me tell you everyone did great.
The administrator couldn't believe that we had brought toothbrushes and said that they were in great need of them. We had brought soccer balls, frisbees, and some paddles to hit tennis balls. After a few hours of play we used some of our work fund to provide enough pizza where it would be split 1 pizza per 3 boys. Afterwards we had promised to buy bracelets from them, which they make and sell in order to buy candy and other things that they normally wouldn’t receive from the orphanage. These bracelets usually take about 3 hours a piece and can be quite eloquent with some of them having 8 to 9 word sentences on them. These to us can be priceless but they sell them from a $1 to $1.50. We said our good byes to them and hopped in the car, some of us with tears in our eyes. It’s crazy how attached and how people can feel like family when you’ve only spent a few hours together.
The administrator couldn't believe that we had brought toothbrushes and said that they were in great need of them. We had brought soccer balls, frisbees, and some paddles to hit tennis balls. After a few hours of play we used some of our work fund to provide enough pizza where it would be split 1 pizza per 3 boys. Afterwards we had promised to buy bracelets from them, which they make and sell in order to buy candy and other things that they normally wouldn’t receive from the orphanage. These bracelets usually take about 3 hours a piece and can be quite eloquent with some of them having 8 to 9 word sentences on them. These to us can be priceless but they sell them from a $1 to $1.50. We said our good byes to them and hopped in the car, some of us with tears in our eyes. It’s crazy how attached and how people can feel like family when you’ve only spent a few hours together.
Our next stop was very difficult one for our group. We went to the Hospital Esquela which translates to the Hospital School. It is the hospital that you would go to if you had no other choice, or if you had very little money.
We visited an intensive care unit first where we saw one boy who had been shot by accident when he was playing soccer. The frustration that a kid has to suffer because he got caught in the middle of a gang related attack is almost unbearable. Another boy had been shot in his eye playing paintball because another person had failed to listen to the rules and continued to shoot after they had taken their masks off. I tell you that it is the hardest thing in the world to watch a 15 year old boy in pain because he knows he will not be able to use his eye again.
All we knew to do was to pray them. So we did. We passed out toys and colored with little children who had broken bones. We prayed over families and mothers of newly born infants who didn’t even have names yet. We colored and handed out more toys to kids from a year old to sixteen years of age who were being treated for malnourishment. What made it worse was to find out that the doctors working there, more often than not, have another practice. They are more or less forced to work there and because of that they will take items from the hospital that have been donated from outside suppliers to take back to use in their own practice. Or treat a patient as inhumanely as one could think. Talk about injustice at its core!
We visited an intensive care unit first where we saw one boy who had been shot by accident when he was playing soccer. The frustration that a kid has to suffer because he got caught in the middle of a gang related attack is almost unbearable. Another boy had been shot in his eye playing paintball because another person had failed to listen to the rules and continued to shoot after they had taken their masks off. I tell you that it is the hardest thing in the world to watch a 15 year old boy in pain because he knows he will not be able to use his eye again.
All we knew to do was to pray them. So we did. We passed out toys and colored with little children who had broken bones. We prayed over families and mothers of newly born infants who didn’t even have names yet. We colored and handed out more toys to kids from a year old to sixteen years of age who were being treated for malnourishment. What made it worse was to find out that the doctors working there, more often than not, have another practice. They are more or less forced to work there and because of that they will take items from the hospital that have been donated from outside suppliers to take back to use in their own practice. Or treat a patient as inhumanely as one could think. Talk about injustice at its core!I tell you these things not to hurt or scare you, but to give you a mere glimpse of the world we live in and the reality we face. Every day people are forgotten about and trampled on. These people are the innocent and they deserve every right that we’ve grown up with. How easy it is for us to just look away because what we see is hurt and pain. But Christ calls us to do the exact opposite. He calls us to feed the hungry and tend to the sick. He calls us to go out and make disciples among the nations so that the whole world can see His Love. In Him all is made equal but we have to be his hands and feet in order for this to be seen in the world.
We came back to the house with a lot of hurt in our hearts. Knowing this God provided one little egg from the chicken we bought for Elba and her family.
A glimpse of hope for the family we built the house for and I tell you that made my sorrow turn to joy. Our trust cannot be in our own understanding but HAS to be fully in God’s. If one is willing to get their hands even a little dirty, God can do miraculous things.
It's really great reading ya'lls experiences. I can really see how God, thru your experiences, has changed you and the people you've ministered to, for the better. It's exciting to see God working thru all of you. Safe travels and I look forward to hearing more stories when you return.
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