Expecting Great Things

Since I've been sick over the last couple of weeks and ordered to rest, I've been thinking a lot about what we've been doing with these children. It has been over a year since Little Hands of Hope has been officially functioning in El Salvador and I have become so familiar with these children and they are so special to me. As I have been lying in the hammock, it has been hard for me to hear the children in the street in the middle of the day when they would normally be in here with us. It has been hard because I hear them begging to please just give them class for a little while or how about we let them in to help clean and cook. :) These particular children are ones that don't have stable families and I am sure that part of their desire to come in was from their boredom from being in the streets alone, from a desire to belong somewhere and be with someone who cared for them, and also probably from a desire to eat a good, warm meal.

Some of our mid-day crowd. 

I have watched one of these little ones be abandoned by his mother upon his father coming home from prison. This little boy has become the new lost boy of Meanguera. He is found in the streets after dark, alone - he is just 5 years old. He supposedly goes to school every day, but actually spends his time wandering the streets looking for something to occupy his time. He is such a smart little boy who can put together a puzzle quicker than most. He would cuddle in your lap forever if you picked him up because he wants to be loved. This is one little boy. Then there is another whose father is in the United States. His mother has a new man in her life. One of his older brothers has moved to another city to live with other family members. One day, I found this little one walking his several-mile trek to school - alone. He is just 6 years old. He doesn't like to talk and it is hard to put a smile on his face. He is constantly in trouble for fighting in school and sometimes he just doesn't go to class and wanders the streets. He does not say much, but he eats like there is no tomorrow. He has so much pain in his eyes, but it is hard to earn his trust so that he will open up and talk.

I could go on and on and tell many stories like those of these 2 little boys, but that would make this a very long post.  These children and their situations have been heavy on my heart these last couple of weeks and I wonder what will become of these children. Will they be loved enough in the short time they spend with us each day? Will they truly become lost boys who grow up to be lost men who resort to crime and look to gangs to be their "families"? Or will they remember and take to heart what we have taught them about what is right? Will they give their hearts to Jesus and rest in His love? If I think about it too hard, it hurts. But then I remember that God knows the situations of each of these children and why He has them there and I remember that my job is to pray and not just to anyone, but to the God who can do more than we can ask or imagine. He is a Father to these fatherless little ones.

 Today, I pulled out My Utmost for His Highest and was challenged by a question from Oswald Chambers: "Is our attitude today an attitude that springs from our vision of God? Are we expecting God to do greater things than He has ever done?" I often forget that I'm not in the struggle alone. I have Someone more powerful than anything and anyone - the All-Powerful Lord of the Universe who is not limited by humanity, fears, or weaknesses. He doens't need me anyway. He is the same God who brought the Israelites out of slavery, opened the Red Sea for them to cross on dry ground, helped a small boy defeat a veteran Giant, made the sun stand still for Joshua in battle. God is in the habit of doing great things, why don't I expect Him to continue that? So today my hope is refreshed and I am expecting God to do great things with these children! I don't know what He has in store, but I know that these children are close to His heart and He is going to do marvelous things in El Salvador!