Seeing the kids from different perspectives

We have been going to our orphanages in Mexicali at least monthly for more than five years.  Inevitably, they have won our hearts, simply by being themselves, being “cute”.  People who come with us for the first time fall in love with their “favorite” child (although very often we have trouble singling out only one!). That’s one of the reasons we keep going back.  But let’s dig a little deeper.

Look at them, or your “favorite” child, from the perspective of their PAST:  There is a reason that they are in this home.  The father figure, if any, in the lives of most of the kids is mom’s abusive boy-friend, whoever he happens to be at any given time.  The male adult in their lives is a person to be feared.  Most of the children still have contact with their mother, but too often the contact is sporadic and undependable. The innocence of the children has been violated, they have seen and heard things their precocious eyes and ears have had no capacity to deal with.  When they arrive at the orphanages, after they have been abused physically and emotionally, they are little more than broken pieces.

Look at them from the perspective of their FUTURE:  At YesWeServe we come alongside the ministries we support.  We are in this for the long haul.  We are in this for the children.  We want to provide hope and a future where the children can break away from the faulty “heritage” handed on to them from their parents.  We are helping to carry out the promise from Jeremiah 29:11 “ For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” 

Look at them from the perspective of their PRESENT:  Through our ministry, YesWeServe contributes to the kids having a safe zone while growing up, where they will have a roof over their heads, healthy meals, encouragement and help while going to school, and a loving, God-fearing family where they can belong.  There is barely any joy that surpasses witnessing the broken pieces alluded to above “coming together” and made whole!  That’s what is taking place at El Niño Feliz, La Esperanza de los Niños, and Mision Frontera. 

I pray that looking at the kids from a multi-faceted perspective like this one will help us to go deeper in our ministry and impact in their lives – and that we will grow as God’s servants in the process.