Sunday Update

God has given us an amazing day today! We started with breakfast at the hotel and then rode the bus to the orphanage.

As we neared the orphanage, we drove through the surrounding community of Ventanilla. There were an astounding number of dwellings, side by side, one on top of the other, stretching far into the distance to the hills.

Once at the orphanage, we had the privilege of meeting Miguel, the owner and director. Lisa had brought him a gift, chocolate candy bars – one of his favorite things. The look on his face conveyed his joy and appreciation.

Miguel then began to tell us the story of his life and how the orphanage came to be. We were all moved by his story and the work of God in his life. He shared of losing his infant son 20 years ago to a heart attack. As he was leaving the hospital carrying his son, he passed two children seeking medical attention; they didn't have the two soles (less than a dollar) that they needed to be treated. Miguel took them to the hospital and paid the two soles. One of the boys died and Miguel and his wife buried the boy in the same coffin as their son.

Because of that experience, Miguel began taking food to street children, eventually taking in four of them for the night – they slept in his dead son’s room. The next night there were 8 more children and soon 30 people were living in his house. The neighbors didn’t like this and reported him for kidnapping. He was in jail for a month and a half and when he was released, he sold his home and car and moved to Ventanilla. Finding no place to live, he began building a home for his family and the now 50 children living with him. His “community” continued to grow and now there are more than 730 children.

Miguel told stories of how God has provided time and again for their needs. He said that he is not a man of great faith, but a man who tries to have faith. He told of a time when he committed to be a Christian for a day. Before long he was revising that to one hour, and then finally one minute. Now he tries to live as a Christian one minute at a time.

When he finished his story, he asked if we had any questions. Josey asked about the children, and where they were. He said they didn’t know we were coming – we were to be their Christmas present! What an amazing thought – that God would use us as a gift for these children!

Next, Miguel took us on a tour of the facility. We had the chance to see the sewing workshop, the woodshop, and one of the casas. The children’s shoes all lined up in their casa was a sight to behold.

As we left the casa, we moved to an area where some of the younger boys were playng – what a treat that was! Pictures cannot truly convey the joy of those moments, but here are several that will hopefully give a glimpse of that experience.

One boy began collecting the little plastic circles from the inside of the holes punched in our name tages. He made sure to visit with each of us and get our circles!

Next we went to the chapel where many of the kids were gathered; we were brought up on the stage and introduced to the children who sang to us and welcomed us.

We then filed back out and lined up to greet the children as they made their way to lunch. We now refer to this as the “kissing line”, as the children came by offering us all a kiss on the cheek. We all agreed that we have never received so many kisses before! Lyn commented tonight that she came here to love on the kids, and here they were loving her.

Six members of our group will be staying at the orphanage, so we took some time to get them settled and make a few logistical decisions about our different activities tomorrow.

While there are a lot of unknowns about exactly how things will run tomorrow and the rest of the week, Bruce encouraged us this evening by reminding us that God knows what is ahead of us and we know the final outcome - as Christians we are victorious through Jesus. We must become so conscious of Him in each moment, that we are no longer self-conscious. Please pray that God will give us that moment by moment awareness of Him, so that all our concerns and worries fade away.