On a recent “Missionary for a Day” trip to Mexicali I was talking with Martin. Or rather, he was talking with me! Less than a week before our conversation he had admitted four new siblings into La Esperanza de los Niños children´s home. There really wasn’t room for them, of course, so he wanted to explain to me why he had increased the number of children. The story was a familiar one: the biological mother’s current live-in boy-friend was abusing her children, verbally, physically, sexually. Martin had sent me a couple of pictures he took the first or second day they were at the Home. The look in their eyes told you all you needed to know, and more than you perhaps wanted to know, about the fear, guilt, anxiety, and desperation inside of them. On one occasion, when the oldest of the siblings happened to block passage through a doorway, Martin gently lifted his hand to accompany his “could you please move a bit so that I can get through?!”, she jumped back with fear in her eyes, throwing her hands up for protection. Assuring her that she had nothing to fear, that he would never lay hand on her, she finally relaxed.
The mother, who is now pregnant with her fifth child (all by different “fathers”), perhaps somewhere in the depth of her heart realized that these children would have a better chance of a hopeful future at La Esperanza de los Niños than with her.
By the time I was introduced to the siblings, the innocent, joyful spark you would expect to find in kids their age had begun to return to their eyes. People like Martin and Elena who model God’s love provide a nurturing environment which has started to ignite a hope in the hearts of these children. A hope they may never have known in their dismal, fearful young lives.
I am sharing this story in this space not just because it is fresh in my mind (I am reminded of similar stories on every visit!), but because I want to give you the opportunity to minister with us, even if you never get closer to crossing the border with us than looking at a picture on your refrigerator. At our “Rhythms for Hope” benefit concert, YesWeServe will launch a new initiative. For “a buck a day” ($30.00/month) you will help us fulfill our mission to change the world, one child at a time. Maybe you have been on one or many of our “Missionary for a Day” trips to Mexicali and have felt a special connection with one of the children.
When you sponsor a child, you will receive a picture with their name, their age, their favorite thing to do, and you will receive letters from him or her. Additionally, child sponsorships will provide YesWeServe and the orphanages with more predictability in budgeting. More information about YesWeServe’s Child Sponsorship program will be announced at “Rhythms for Hope” and subsequently on our website, www.yesweserve.org. Since YesWeServe is registered as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization with the IRS, your donations are tax deductible.
By the way, Ana, the oldest of the four newly admitted siblings, has a 9.5 grade point average (out of 10), which is quite an achievement given her “handicap”. Sponsoring Ana and all the other children who find themselves in a similar situation to hers will help to keep them in a safe zone while they are growing up, staying in school, and learning what it is to live in a God honoring community.
