Independence Day

Instituto Nacional de Osicala (highschool) sporting Central American typical dress

Parvularia de Centro Escolar Benito Juarez (kindergarten)

El Salvador's Independence Day has come and gone. The children in the schools all over were practicing for weeks for their parades. The little girls were all excited about their special dresses and what part they were playing in the parades, dramas, or dances. It was a loud and colorful weekend!

In all of the excitement, I got a glimpse of some of the brokenness of this little country. Matia and I were talking about the civil war in El Salvador that ended 20 years ago. We both have friends that fought in the war. Matia lived it as a child. What is sad for me is how much that nasty conflict still affects this country. There are still people just now discovering that lost family members are still alive. Matia told me that in Meanguera there are still a lot of people angry at others over relatives that one of them killed in the war. Some Salvadorans that are in other countries are afraid to come home because of the people angry with them over their killed relatives.

It is a sad reality but it is hard to recover from a fight with your own flesh and blood on your own soil. But, that is why Little Hands of Hope is here. We want to bring hope to such a struggling place. It is a small country with a big wound, but I know that God can transform this country into a shining, hopeful one. Pray for these people and that these children will grow up to be a new El Salvador that trusts the Lord and shines hope!

The school in Meanguera marching in their parade. The ones with the sashes  are honored because of their good grades.

An indian, police man, doctor, nurse, fireman, and a soldier (only part of him :)  to celebrate El Salvador's history and part of El Salvador today. 

Students who are supposed to be marching. A couple of my girls are in there. 

Jonatan - the police man. He comes to the center in the afternoons. 

Cachiporras - some of the dancers in the parade. The two girls on the end to the right are some of mine - Verenisse and Madelyn. 

Erika in her cachiporra outfit and Lorena wishing that she got to dance too. :)

Sad, but Hopeful

They wanted me to take a picture of them and I just love how it turned out! From left: Mauricio, Dayana, and Olman.

Well, Little Hands of Hope has been as busy as ever! We have had a lot of children in and out of this building these last few days. Today though, I have a little bit of a heavy heart. I have just heard that 2 of our boys that come to the center in the afternoon have been stealing quarters from other children in school, slipping out into the streets during class, begging for quarters, and terrorizing the motortaxi that works here in Meanguera. Sadly, I am not surprised. I have also discovered them stealing toys from the center. I was hoping that it was just the temptation of toys they didn't have until I heard about their morning sabotaging outside the school. These children are 5 and 6 years old and have already had the police called on them.

Some of the busyness with our afternoon group. 

I have heavy heart because I love these boys and they really are teachable and sweet children, but they don't have fathers to care for them and their mothers don't pay attention to what they are doing during the day. In fact, one boy's mother works in another town and is not usually home. However, I have hope because, while the sin makes our hearts heavy, Jesus died and rose again to redeem us from our sins. Matia was also discouraged to hear the news, but I reminded him that this is one of the main reasons that Little Hands of Hope exists. We are here to help children in these difficult circumstances and bring them the hope and love of the gospel. I hope that this will change these boys' hearts one day. They are so young to have learned these habits and we hope that we can help them before they grow and are stealing more than just quarters!

I don't want to post their names to this blog, but please joing me in praying for these children and for wisdom for us to instruct and love them. They also have a friend who joins them in the mornings who used to come to the center. He used to come to the center, but he stopped coming. His situation is very similar to these 2 boys. Please pray that he will come back and that we will be able to help him. If God wants him here, he will come back.

Dayana playing with Matia

One of my concerns is that social services here in El Salvador could take these children away. In that case, they would go to a state-run institution. Funding is difficult in El Salvador and state-run institutions leave a lot to be desired. That is one reason that we are working to open an orphanage so that we can help children that would otherwise be in a situation with little hope and shine hope into their lives. Pray that we have wisdom for this process and funding soon!


P.S. Some of you were asking for wedding pictures. Here are just a couple!

Matia and me

My nieces wore typical Salvadoran dresses!

Back Again!

For some reason hiding under the table was very funny today! From left: Olman, Abilio, Dayana, and Lorena. 

We are back in El Salvador after a short visit to the US for a wedding that so many people worked so hard to make perfect for us. The children were so excited to come back to the center and it's been fun to be with them again. The kids asked to see pictures of the wedding and have been enthralled with them and who is who in the pictures.

Olman playing games with us. :)

We had such a pleasant surprise from Olman! He has improved so much. He still doesn't like to sit still and keeps us very busy, but he no longer cries at every little thing. He has a better appetite and he plays more with the other children! He LOVES to count in English. He hasn't even learned his numbers in Spanish yet, but he constantly walks around saying, "one, two, three, four, five..." Olman has a new little sister, but I'm not sure how much he will get to see her in the future since his mother often does not stay at home. You all have been so faithful in pray for Olman. Please pray for this improvement to continue! How exciting!

The kids playing with Matia while he tries to take the hammock out of the way.  :)

Pray for us as we work on finding a good lawyer to help us legalize our nonprofit in El Salvador so that we can start taking steps to set up an orphanage in the future. Thank you all for your support and prayers! You are very special to us!

Busy Little Hands!

The older children with Michael and Sandi. 

I was just looking over the last blog that I wrote and realized that it has been a month since I last wrote. I'm sorry that I left you all without updates so long. We have been so busy here and it's been hard to keep up with the blog. We have been trying to sort out my residency here in El Salvador and find a good lawyer for legalizing our nonprofit in El Salvador. All of these processes move a lot slower in El Salvador than in the US and require a lot more back and forth from us. It has been quite a lesson in patience for me. :) Hoawever, God has always been good and faithful and each time it seemed like there was too much to pull together, somehow it worked out. God is reminding me that it is not in my control and to trust His might and care - it's much easier that way!

We have also been working on getting a visa for Matia to travel to the US for our wedding and to meet some of you all. We are very excited because it was granted and we will be traveling to the US next week!

Olman with Sandi

Michael with his new friends: Madelyn (left), Ezequiel, Olman (touching his head :), and Lorena. 

We also had a fun time with our gringo visitors, Sandi and Michael. The kids just loved having someone come and visit them and spend time with them! They practiced some of their English and played until Michael and Sandi could play no more. :) It was fun to watch the children put some of the English into practice and see how much they could apply from what they have learned. The children were very affectionate and fought over who got to sit with Michael or Sandi. I got a laugh out of Iseyda who was sitting in Michael's lap and stroking his head and she told him that his hair was like the corn when it is just starting to bud! That tells you about the importance of corn here in El Salvador. 

We have still been busy with the children as always. Today, the older children asked to learn their Bible verse in English so we are working on that this week. They are starting to interact more during our Bible story times and I am praying that the Lord will touch their hearts with His love. Olman is still our little busy bee and requires a lot of attention, but he is such a joy to my heart. Matia and I are both sad when he misses a day at the center. What I am excited about is that Ariel and Kember have been coming back! There is so much work to so with them, so much love and attention that they need, and it is hard to know how to work with them sometimes. But God knows why He has them here and He can heal all of their hurts. 

We went to visit Kember and Ariel at their house. Left is Ariel's little sister, in the pink Kember's little sister, Allison, Ariel in the red shirt, and Kember in the blue. 

There is so much to tell about these children and I will tell you a little more about some of them individually over the next couple of months. Please keep them in your prayers. Pray for them to know Jesus' love for them, pray that they grow into adults who serve the Lord with the talents. Pray for us here who are trying to minister to these children, that we would love them in the way they need to be loved, truly show them God's love, and for us to use our time wisely.

Abilio brushing my hair and Ezequiel  being goofy as usual! These moments make this well worth it!

Thank you all for your love, support, and prayers. You all carry me through more than you know and we couldn't do this without you!

Matia with our little handful, Olman. 

Sick Little Ones

The favorite activity after snack. All the kids gather in the corner and Olman sits in front of them  and begins a sermon. None of us have understood him yet. :)

I want to tell you all a little bit more about the children that I get to work with here, but first let me give you a general update on the last couple of weeks. We have had a lot of sick little ones lately and we will be headed to the doctor with one on Monday. Little Rosme has been lethargic and not interested in playing for over a week now and we are hoping we can have him back to normal soon. School was also out for the last half of the week and attendance is usually down when school's out because a lot of the children that live far away come to the center with their brothers and sisters on their way to class. I am a little sad because the circumstances have changed for a lot of the children that live farther away and some of them are not able to come any more. I am hoping that we will be able to arrange transportation for them soon, but we still need more monthly income to be able to do that. Meanwhile, I am trying to trust God that He knows who to send, when, and how, and we are contacting other children who have wanted to come to the center. 

Bible story time with the younger group. 

Rosmeri (left), Melvin (center), and Iseyda hard at work with play doh. 

Guillermo very concentrated on his work. He is a very busy young man.

We also had a visit from Matia's brother, Josue. Josue had to do some community service hours for his upcoming highschool graduation. The children thought he was a blast! My shy one - Abilio - made friends with Josue right away and had him building lego houses in a matter of minutes. We are also looking forward to a visit from Sandi and Michael, a couple of "gringo" friends at the end of the month! The kids are looking forward to their visit and I'm so excited for them to have a chance to put some of their English into practice. 

Abilio pretending to take pictures while Josue fixes Ezequiel's hair. 

Today, I hope that I can help you all get to know Rosme a little better. He is the youngest of the group - still not 3 years old until September. He is the smallest, but he thinks he's the biggest. He reminds me a little bit of a Chihuahua. :) Rosme has quite a walk to get to the center. I'd say it's a least 3 miles one way. His mother is away working and his father is not involved in his life. He lives with his grandmother, great-grandmother, one of his brothers, and I think an uncle. Usually, Rosme is all play and energy. He defends what he thinks is his territory like the best of them. He is learning how to share and how to say, "please" and "thank you" rather than screaming and demanding what he wants. :) He has an attitude bigger than he is, but that is part of what makes him the life of the party. He has a great sense of humor and loves to tease even though he is still learning how to talk in full sentences. Since he has been sick, we have not seen him this week and his presence is sorely missed! 

Rosme's version of a smile for the camera. :)

Not feeling so great and he refuses to sleep on the bed. He prefers the floor because that's what he's used to. 

A little fuzzy, but this picture makes me laugh. This is Rosme "closing his eyes" for the game that we are playing. 

Please pray for our health, specifically for Rosme's and his trip to the doctor. Also, pray for wisdom in how to handle the circumstances of the children who are far away and no longer coming to the center. I am so thankful for the children that we do have and how much they are learning and how much they are teaching me too. God is so good and faithful everyday even when we get tired and cranky. It is too easy to take His grace forgranted everyday. We would be lost without His faithfulness everday. Thank you all for your support and your prayers. You are God's gift to the children here and to me!

Ninos

For some reason they love sitting in this corner! From left: Rosme, Ezequiel,  Dayana, Mauricio, Olman, Abilio. 

It's been busy here at Little Hands of Hope, but we have been enjoying it! The children have settled in so much and this has become almost a second home to them. They know who to look for when they come, where to find everything, and what comes next. They have been a little thrown off these days because we have been spending the last portion of our time with them each day speaking only in English. It is comical the looks that they give us sometimes! They are learning pretty quickly though. They are not yet answering us in English, but they are starting to understand certain phrases pretty well now. 


We have a couple of new children - Douglas and Melvin. I spent 2 months working with Melvin in 2010 and he was very excited to join in and it is a pleasure to have him. He is a very studious little boy. He is in first grade and he comes to the center in the afternoon. Douglas is in kindergarten. He is quiet and shy, but he gets a big smile on his face about pretty much anything. Nathaly didn't come back after her first day. Her mother isn't a fan of the evangelical church. Abilio hasn't missed a day! He is Melvin's little brother and while Abilio started out very shy, he sometimes is the loudest one in the group now! Jonatan is also doing very well. He is very laid back and just enjoys whatever is going on. He is very easily distracted, but he's very smart and is always giggling about something!

Abilio and his friend Matia :)

Douglas

Douglas learning English.

Today we had a small group of children because school was out. It is always strangely quite when we have small group and we don't always know what to do with ourselves. However, it is fun every now and then to have a smaller group because we have even more quality time with the kids. I got lots of hugs today and no one had to fight over sitting in my lap today since there was time for each one. :)  These children are all so precious and some of them need so much love and attention. My hope is that they receive all that they need while they are here and will recognize the value they have as image-bearers of the Creator of the universe. 


Please pray for our health - we have had a lot of colds, but I think we are all on the mend. It's hard to keep everyone healthy with this many children together all at once. Praise God for all of the children that come to the center and the new ones too! Pray that He will touch the heart of each one with His love and that we, the staff, will be able to consistently show them Jesus' love. Thank you all for your love, prayers and support! We couldn't do this without you!

Today was our first day with the children since I've been back in Meanguera. I've missed them so much! A friend told me when I was visiting in the United States that missing the children might be a good thing because then I would appreciate them so much more when I got back - she was right! A group of the children had been showing up to the house all last week since they heard that I was back, practically begging for us to start already. I had 5 of them playing in the house last Thursday - it made me smile. Saturday we had a meeting with the children's relatives. Olman came right in and curled up next to me like he belonged there. I wanted to keep him! 

Our afternoon group plus Rosme listening to the Bible story.

We had a good bunch of children today - 21! We were missing a couple in the afternoon, but we had 3 new children - Jonatan, Nathaly, and Abilio. I've worked with Abilio and Nathaly before so it is fun to have them again. Jonatan is very smart and very attentive to everything. Abilio is painfully shy, but still was attentive and participated in the activities. Nathaly quietly takes everything in and follows her friends' lead. The kids were all very excited to be back. Even Mauricio, who usually has no interest in coming without his big brother, walked in talking excitedly and grinning from ear to ear. They all remembered their Bible verses better than I did and were almost giddy about practicing English - it was very funny to watch them! Everyone fell back into the routine really well which is an answer to prayer because I was a little bit worried about them adjusting back. We only had tears from Abilio! Olman has gone back to some of his old habits of not knowing what to do with his own excitement and not realizing where his body is in relation to everything else, but I think we can help him adjust back quickly. I was encouraged to see that he was still eager to say the Bible verses, give us hugs, and practice English so we haven't lost too much ground. 

Mauricio and Dayana very busy with their play-doh.

I'm so happy to be back with the children again and to see all the familiar faces in Meanguera! Please keep us in your prayers. Pray for wisdom in handling the children and that they will always see Christ's love shining us as we work with them. Thank you all for your encouragement and support when I visited the states and thank you always for your financial support, encouragement, and prayers while I'm here. God is doing so many things in these little hearts through your support!

Olman is not about to let those cars out of his sight. 

Matia playing cars with Olman and Josue.