Week 3

Hi there :) This week was, well, a week from...Heaven, but in a VERY disguised way. I want you to know though, how much comfort and strength it brings to me, to know you are reading this blog and by God's grace, taking something from it for you and your own life. AND, that you are reading this and praying for me, the other missionaries and our friends. Thank you with my whole heart.

Getting robbed
Christian came knocking on our window as usual Thursday morning, but this time, we didn't let him in right away. You see, the afternoon before, Christian made some very inappropriate comments to me in front of his friends and never apologized. Denis and I explained to him that his behavior was wrong. He said he was sorry and at once I forgave him and opened the door to him. As usual, he scarfed down his bread and tea, LOADED with sugar. The phone rang and Denis went to take it in the other room. 30 seconds after Denis left, Christian got up from the table and headed towards the stairs, which ALL the kids, especially him, know that it's totally off limits. I didn't want to make a big scene and freak out, so I calmly walked over to him and told him to come down. He smirked at me and ran up and slammed the door of our office. I barged in to find him tearing through our bookshelves, throwing books and papers everywhere. And then he found what he was looking for in no time at all, money. He dumped our money bank (tin can) onto the floor and grabbed 200 pesos. At this point, I was completely bear hugging him, screaming at him to give back the money. He was cussing and kicking me. I screamed for Denis and he came running up. He grabbed Christian, tore off his shirt and went through his pockets. Christian was crying hysterically, pointing at me and yelling words that I will leave to your imagination and claiming he took nothing. Denis couldn't find the money. He picked him up and literally tossed him out of our house. At this point, the commotion had awaken the interest of our neighbors and they were all out of their houses trying to figure out what was going on. Christian grabbed a huge rock and tossed it at our front door and than ran off. We learned later that the 200 pesos were in his underwear. Of course, I experienced a lot of emotions; I was angry, heartbroken, and scared. I have such a fondness for Christian and truthfully saw him in an innocent light. But that morning, he not only robbed me of our community money, but he robbed me of the innocence in how I viewed the children. People would tell me that the kids steal and can be dangerous, but I never really believed it...I didn't want to believe it. Now, my naiive view was taken from me and I viewed Christian (and some of the other children) in a different light. However, there is goodness in all this, of course. God is giving me a great opportunity to forgive and to love in a way I have NEVER experienced. Christian is grounded from our home for 1 month. Yet, at 1 month, whether he apologizes or not, he will be allowed back in. You see, everyone in the Villa turns their back on Christian. His own mother and grandmother, don't acknowledge him! If Heart's Home was to close our doors to him permanently, we would be exactly like everyone else in his life, and our mission is to love those who are the MOST abandoned by everyone. It's seems so poetic in words, almost romanticized. But living it is a whole other story :) God give us your grace! *On a very positive note: 2 of the boys who live across the street, saw how upset I was and came over and washed all the dishes that I was supposed to do, which allowed me time for prayer and to cool down. I was so proud of them*


Bringing the little ones to Jesus
Our daily hour of Adoration is one of my most favorite times of the day. I dump everything on Him...trust me...I do not hold back! And I let Him fill me up, so that I can serve my friends that day. 2 days this week, I have had the chance to witness God's yearning for the children's hearts in Adoration. On separate occasions, Ezekial (8 yrs) and Jemena (9 yrs) came over to our house and asked for me and when they found out I was in Adoration, they asked to come visit me there. When Ezekial came in he kneeled down and bowed his little head. I asked him if he knew who was right in front of us, and he said "Jesus!" And I asked him if he wanted to sing Jesus a song and he said "Yes!" And was so excited as he began to sing a song about elephants!!!! hahaha :) Ezekial, was so pure in this moment and so little before our Lord! I can't even imagine what JOY he brought to Jesus in that moment. Afterwards, he asked that I sing a song in English and I sang a verse of "Holy God, we praise Thy name, Lord of all we bow before Thee..." He smiled really big and I smiled back at him :)

Jemena came in and snuggled up right next to me, while I was deep into prayer! I asked her to pray a Hail Mary, Our Father and Glory Be together and off we went. I'm SO excited to say I know the Hail Mary and Glory Be in Spanish...however, I left the Our Father to her! Afterwards, she asked that we pray one more Haily Mary :) When we finished, she said that I did the sign of the cross incorrectly!! haha...When you finish making the sign of the cross, you have to either kiss your thumb or place your hand over your heart! I loved it! I did as she said and she smiled really big :) We sat in front of Jesus, and she just started to talk to me about her family. Her life at home is really difficult and she was telling me about her deceased grandparents. Her grandpa used to beat her grandma and she said it made her really sad. I assured her that she was safe with God in Heaven and she agreed.

These little moments made a HUGE impact on my heart. First of all, because it was quite the contrast from my experience with Christian!! And I know God let me experience this partly that I see the children as children still... and realize that not all of them are going to act as Christian. I was also humbled to see the respect and knowledge they had of our Lord at SUCH a young age. When I was 8 or 9, I don't think I knew what they knew or had the respect for God as they did. In those 2 moments, God let me feel for a moment, His IMMENSE love for His little children...what JOY they bring Him. I wanted to grab all the little kids in the street and bring them into Adoration!

Final Thoughts
There was more to the week than all of this, but as I reflected on everything, I realized these 3 experiences stuck with me far more than the others and challenged and taught me the most, so I am excited to share them with you! Keep storming Heaven and know that I'm your little prayer warrior here in the Villa. Miss you and love you! xoxo