El Salvador Here I Come!

I am so excited to be headed to El Salvador very soon! I really miss my little children and my friends there. It feels like I am finally going home. I am even more excited to be able to see and participate in what God is doing in El Salvador!

Who wouldn't miss this? :)

It is exciting to step out in faith and see what God will do. He doesn't always make things happen like we expect Him to, but if we can let that go and just wait expectantly for what He will do, it is a neat experience. Oswald Chambers says,  "It is not service that matters, but intense spiritual reality, expecting Jesus Christ at every turn. This will give our life the attitude of child-wonder which He wants it to have." It is hard sometimes not to worry about what will happen, will we have enough funds, what will we do if we don't, how will all the numerous details come together, what are we forgetting, etc. Trust me, I've asked myself all these questions. Then someone reminds me that it is not my capability and strength that makes any of this happen. I am grateful for the people that remind me that the burden is not mine and help me rest on His strength. I often try to put my own limitations on Him, but that's silly. God is bigger than all the details.  "Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21. There is no limit - I can't wait to see God's hand at work!

Keep us in your prayers and come and see and participate in what God is doing in El Salvador! We would love to have you!

Melvin

Melvin is going to be a star student some day! He has a shy, quiet personality, but was so much fun to work with and he loved learning! Melvin got along very well with the other children and hardly fought or disagreed with anyone. If we were running around, he would usually just watch us and laugh at us. He preferred not to run, but sometimes joined in in spite of himself. Melvin loved to do crafts! He was also very studious and always paid special attention to learning his Bible verses and English words and he enjoyed the Bible stories too.  It was fun to watch him quietly take everything in and then hear him talk about it later and see how much he was learning!

Melvin practicing greetings in English. Just look at his smile - he loved it!

Melvin enjoying his snack with Brayan.

Melvin became good friends with Brayan which was very funny because their personalities are so different. I always heard them making each other laugh about the smallest things - so much fun to see! Melvin loved everything he did with us and on our last day together, he asked when we would be able to have class again. I see him often when I go back to El Salvador for visits and that is always his first question to me!

Melvin lives with his parents, older sister, and younger brother. His sister would often come and play as we were finishing our activities for the day. His brother joined us for a few days too. I will write more about him later. My prayer for Melvin is that he will continue to enjoy learning and from a young age, use that eagerness to learn for God's glory. 

                      Melvin playing legos with Guillermo, Juan, and Fabian and practicing colors in English.

Madelin

Madelin with her bag that she never let out of her sight. 

We had so much fun with Madelin! She was almost 3 years old when she came to my class. We had a lot of tears from her in the beginning, but those soon turned to laughter and chatter when she started playing with everyone. She loved to sing and would do all of the hand motions very enthusiastically – she would always get her whole body into and make us laugh! She also loved to do arts and crafts, play outside, make things out of play-doh, and pretty much anything else that we were doing. She was never one to be left out! Madelin would always say whatever she was thinking in such a funny way; she definitely kept us laughing. She always came to class with some kind of a bag - sometimes a back pack, sometimes just a shopping bag - but she would take everything out of it when she arrived to show us everything she had brought with her that day. I would often see her on the weekends and she would ask if we were having class on Monday and let me know that she was going to be there. She hardly ever missed a day she could spend with us!

It's always fun to stick your hands in paint!

Play-doh with Sandra. 

Madelin lives with her mom and dad and older sister.  They are all very sweet. At first, Madelin’s mother was worried about sending Madelin to our class because she was the youngest child there, but her father really wanted her to have a chance to practice English. In the end, everyone was happy because they saw that Madelin was really enjoying the time she spent with us and they enjoyed a little break from her.Of course, we were more than happy to take her off their hands and laugh with Madelin every day! Even today, over a year later, Madelin still remembers our time together and will ask when we are having class again. I tell her I hope we will some day soon!

My prayer for Madelin is that one day she and her family will one day enjoy a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 

                                                   Madelin making sure to get all of the hand motions in with her songs.

Veronica

Veronica is full of energy! She was the loudest child in the whole bunch that I worked with in Meanguera. She was 5 years old when I was working with her, so she must be about 6 now. At first, Veronica was somewhat of a challenge for me. She was very enthusiastic about everything which was wonderful. She was also very smart and understood everything before all of the other children and was ready to move on. She was also very demanding on our attention and I had my hands full trying to figure out how to keep her challenged without disrupting everyone else. I soon discovered that poor Veronica had had a very difficult life for such a young child. Her father spent most of his time drunk for the first few years of Veronica’s life. When Veronica was about 4, her father accepted Christ as his Savior and he is now one of the most dedicated, enthusiastic members of the church in Meanguera. He is truly a joy to be around, is an encouragement to those around him, and does not stop singing God’s praises for what He has done in his life. After I met him, I found out where Veronica’s expressive and enthusiastic personality came from! Sadly, Veronica’s mother has not opened her heart to the Lord and as you can imagine, a house divided can be somewhat difficult for a young child.

I realized that Veronica, like so many of the children I was working with, was hungry for extra love and attention. We had to be prepared to stop and listen to her when she arrived in the mornings; she always had a lot to say from overhearing the adults talk. Veronica never missed a thing! We also discovered that Veronica loved to sing and we would set her up to lead the singing with the children. We also had to keep her busy helping us with all of the activities. It made her feel important and it kept her sharp brain busy! She loved to color, but preferred to have one of us sitting by her side coloring along with her or she would get lonely. :) She always needed someone to chatter at. Veronica always paid extra attention to the Bible stories and a lot of the times she would recognize them from the stories her father taught her. She was a whiz a memorizing Bible verses and loved to do it! I often had to let her recite her Bible verse first because she would be about to burst when it was time to practice our verses.

Never missing a beat!

Once we learned best how to meet Veronica’s needs, we really began to enjoy her. She brought a lot of life to our group of children and she had a heart full of love. She was constantly giving out hugs. She would often break out into song in the middle of an activity or she would suddenly announce the latest news that she had overheard in the adult discussions the night before. She always kept us laughing with her interpretation of what she overheard and her expressive face when she told us. Now when I go back to El Salvador, Veronica is right by my side or in my lap, reciting her Bible verses from our classes and singing her favorite songs. What a treasure she has been to me!

One of my many hugs from Veronica. 

Veronica also has a little sister at home whom she loves dearly. J Veronica never missed an opportunity to tell me about her. Veronica is also very attached to her father. My prayer for Veronica is that she will continue to have an eagerness to learn and use her intelligence for God’s glory, that her eagerness to help will turn into a servant's heart as she grows, and that her mother will one day open her heart to the Lord. 

                                                          Veronica practicing "If You're Happy and You Know It." 

Brayan

Brayan is such a precious child, but his story breaks my heart.  Brayan was 3 years old when I worked with him in El Salvador. He was somewhat of a challenge at first. He was very upset with his mother for leaving him with us at first, but soon he decided to join in with everyone.  After a few days,  I noticed a daily routine with Brayan. Every time that he came, he would very enthusiastically begin playing with everyone and join in with whatever was going on. Then, he would suddenly get cranky and start destroying the buildings, pictures, and puzzles the children were making. We couldn’t seem to distract him from focusing on destroying things and leaving other little children crying in his wake. One day during one of these rampages, I picked him up and held him on my lap for a little while; he stopped completely, put his head on my shoulder, and just sat there. I finally realized that this little boy just needed some extra love and attention. From that day on, we made sure to spend extra time with Brayan and make sure he had extra help with whatever he was doing.  Wow, what a huge difference! He turned into such an enthusiastic little boy, who came running in every morning, giving out hugs, and eager to do everything in a much more cooperative spirit! He loved being with us and would often play while singing us a song or practicing new words and animal noises with us. :) 

Brayan being stubborn about pretty much everything at first. :)

Excited that lunch was coming!

Brayan soon turned into a child that was dearly missed if he didn’t show up. We would look forward to him coming every day and somehow it didn’t seem like the day was quite complete if he didn’t come. I was more and more impressed by what an intelligent child Brayan was showing himself to be. He learned his Bible verses faster than any other child and never needed help reciting them.  He always had funny little quips and endearing ways to say them that would keep us laughing all day. He would look for funny things to do to make us laugh. He was just so much fun and such a joy to have around. 

Being goofy with the legos. 

Later, I would often find Brayan wandering the streets alone. I could not believe my eyes: a 3 year old alone in the streets. His mother was often busy at work and Brayan would be left to do his own thing. He spent half a day with me once without anyone ever coming to look for him. I realized then why he needed so much love and attention from us.

Brayan is such a treasure for me. What a precious child with such a fun personality! Sadly, today I do not know where he is. His mother left his father, took Brayan with her, and left behind Brayan’s older brother. I hope that I will see him again one day; I miss him! He is a child with so much potential like so many of these children.  My prayer for Brayan is that one day God will fill Brayan’s needy, hungry heart with His love. 

                                                         I taught them to sing "Happy Birthday." This is Brayan 

                                                        singing it to me. No, it was not my birthday, but it felt like it!

Iseyda

Iseyda (on the left) playing "horses" with Jocelyn. 

I’m so excited to be able to tell you all more about my children in El Salvador! Today I have been remembering Iseyda; she just turned five.  She is just so much fun. She is very tiny, but has a very big personality! Once she gets to know you, she will tell you exactly what’s on her mind. She is constantly moving, but she loves to sit on your lap and give hugs. She gives the best hugs! Iseyda very quickly became one of my best friends. J She is one of the first people to greet me with a big hug as soon as I get out of the truck from the airport. I will never have a more loyal friend. Her spunky personality brings so much fun and laughter wherever she goes.  She is very smart and quick with her responses; nothing gets by her! When I had her in class, she was very good with memorizing her Bible verses and she loved to sing.

Making sure she is not ignored. :)

Iseyda loves to pick flowers!

Iseyda is a very opinionated little girl and is not a fan of going to school. She says she prefers to be with me because I feed her. J I guess we know where her priorities lie! She will have to be consistent in school next fall since it is mandatory once she turns 6.

Iseyda (in the middle with the checkered dress) singing in Sunday school.

Iseyda’s family is a part of the church in Meanguera and she loves to go to Sunday school and sing the songs that she knows. She lives with her mother, father, older brother, and older sister. Her grandmother lives across the street and she loves to run back and forth between her house and her grandmother’s and chatter at her “Mama Carmen” as she calls her.  This little girl is such a joy to know and I pray that one day she will know Jesus as her Savior! 

                                                          Iseyda practicing her Bible verses. 

Kember

I thought you all might enjoy getting to know some of the children in Meanguera a little more.  I cannot really talk about Little Hands of Hope without mentioning Kember. I used his hands for our logo because his story is what Little Hands of Hope is all about.  When I was in El Salvador just over a year ago working with the children in Menaguera, Kember was one of the children that came to me. He was 3 years old; I have never seen such a resentful 3 year old in my life. At first, he seemed terrified. He wouldn’t talk to anyone, stood in the corner, and cried about everything.  He didn’t want to look at anyone and he didn’t want us help him unless it was absolutely necessary. He certainly didn’t trust us.  At first, I was afraid that we would do more harm than good to Kember because he was so upset every day and hardly seemed to calm down. I almost suggested that it would be best he didn’t come for his sake, but then I noticed that Kember was sick and his caretaker didn’t seem to recognize it. We took him to the doctor and he improved a lot. He started to enjoy playing with the children, but he still didn’t want to talk to the adults. In the beginning, I didn’t understand and I wasn’t sure what to do. Eventually I found out that Kember’s mother had left him with his aunt when he was 2 weeks old. He only saw his mother when she visited every month or so. His aunt was left with a child she didn’t know what to do with.  She had little patience with him, yelled a lot, and hit and kicked him. Kember’s father was completely out of the picture.  No wonder he was so resentful! I realized all we could do was continue to love Kember as best we could and try to let him see that we wanted to help him.

Kember when he first started coming to our class. 

Kember finally warmed up enough to talk to us, but still refused to participate in singing or saying his Bible verse. One day, I went to visit him at his house. I had that he only wore about 4 different sets of clothing and I wanted to bring him more.  The house where Kember lived was a little hut made of corn stalks and plastic.  Kember actually got excited that I was there and pulled out his toys to show me – a plastic whistle and a marble, that was it. It was a hard, sobering visit to Kember’s house to realize that these people probably didn’t even have the bare necessities. What was exciting though was that Kember came to class the next day and stood up and sang with everyone for all he was worth! We couldn’t keep him from singing that day! He wanted to play with us and actually wanted help with his activities. I was amazed at the change.

Kember's house. 

Kember singing with his friends. 

Kember continued to improve every day; he warmed up to us, enjoyed playing, singing, and whatever else we were doing.  One day, we were practicing our Bible verse – a favorite time for the kids because they looked forward to a treat afterward. J  Kember usually turned his back to us and wanted nothing to do with it. Suddenly, Kember said the Bible verse!  I had no idea he even knew it. Then his aunt told me that when he was at home, he would sing the songs, say the English words I taught him, and recite the Bible verses!  I was amazed and encouraged at how much we were able to help Kember learn to be less afraid of the world and realize that he was able to do the same things the other kids were doing. I was even more encouraged when I heard from the people in town that they heard Kember chattering all the time and they had never heard him talk before he came to our class. Through God’s mighty hand, we were able to reach a very resentful little boy and show him what love is. It is amazing how God works in our lives!

I am happy to say that Kember’s mother has returned and now cares for him. He lives with his mom, baby sister, and his sister’s father.  He continues to be much better adjusted child than before. The scared, somewhat hopeless look on his face has now been replaced with a calmer, happier demeanor.  I pray that this progress continues and I hope that we can still help Kember as he grows and help him understand that he has a Savior who wants to rescue him from this world of sin. 

Kember enjoying singing with us!