Some of you may recall my requests for prayers for sweet Maryuri when I was home and privileged to speak to many of you and share my heart about this place. She was one of the names that I begged for your prayers for. They have so worked and I want to share the blessings of that with you the best that I can.
Some great things have been happening on the property and it has made such a tremendous difference in the culture of the "community" of this place. We have two interns back with us, Deborah and Ashley, and they are just a tremendous asset, and then just a week or so ago after much prayer and deliberation, Dorian, my friend and my newest "like a brother" decided that he was going to sign on to stay and minister with us here. We also hired Carlos, who many of you may remember, is one of Deisi's sons ( a lady who works for us ). He is our "junior staff" who helps us so much with the kids and sleeps in the boys bedroom every night to be the "big brother" in there...he lives here now with us all the time, which came as an answer to prayer for his mom. He has grown up in a culture where she has had a difficult time controlling him. Praise be to God that he has spent some time around this place and these kids have softened up neat places in his heart. He is a different kid who is being touched by God whether he knows it or not yet. Amazing changes have taken place. He's learning now how to drive so he can help be our errand guy (and also develop some life skills for someday when he needs to be able to take care of his own family) and he's learning English and he's entering his junior year of school and is on a strict study schedule hoping that with some good grades he'll be able to enter college and we'll be able to help him with that process.
I started all of that to tell you that we've started some new things with the coming of the new year. I shared with you that I spent a couple retreat days at the Mariott praying for direction not just for the children but for the spiritual maturity and health of the project as a whole and so we have taken some steps to help with that. One of them is that the staff that live here have been getting up every Monday morning for a few weeks at 6 am to pray together. It has built such different bonds and unity among us that has been such a gift. Then on Tuesday and Thursday Noel offered to do a total staff devo where all of our ladies and guards and kiddo's and all of us go to a devo for all of us. The staff have shared their stories and we've all come to appreciate one another more I think as people, as friends, maybe even as family, instead of just a bunch of people who sometimes work together. It's been really good. We have also started a bible study in the apartment once a week and a ladies bible study one day a week. We also have started having "family night" on Wednesday nights with the kids where we all are in the kids side at the same time, so it's like one great big party. We sing and do a bible story and some activity and the kids are loving it. So...God has led us into some good things which have been having really neat results so far, so please continue to pray for those things. We do not have a staff that all know Jesus or the life He offers so pray that He might be lifted up in this place by all we say and do and they might come to know Him.
Ok I say all of that to bring us back to Maryuri...her story for those of you who may not remember is that she was taken out of her house because she was abused by her father. He left scars up and down her back and worse than that sexually abused her horribly and left scars on the soul that don't fade easily. When she came here she was so sullen. She wouldn't walk, she didn't want us to touch her, she never smiled, didn't talk, just was so within herself. After a couple weeks she slowly worked her way out of some of that and would come close enough that she'd walk by and lay her little head on our leg first and then want us to pick her up and she has just come so far in the last couple months. She now smiles one of the most beautiful smiles you could ever want to see, she loves all over us, gives sweet sweet kisses, and is just precious.
The best news I could tell you though is this...over the past week or so we've noticed a beautiful thing in this once very broken little girl. It's mesmorizing all of us to be honest. We noticed it first the other day when we were at our staff devo with Noel and Maryuri was sitting in the circle and when we all sang and looked around the circle I saw this sweet little 2 year old face smile from ear to ear sitting over there opening her mouth and singing along as we were praising Him. Everywhere we've been since she's done the same thing. If we sing, she sings. Sometimes she's singing her song when we're not singing. And you should see all of us, we just sit and watch and marvel at the goodness of God. It is one of the sweetest sights I've seen in a while.
She's found her song y'all. God is healing her heart and she's wanting to sing. Can we all just shout hallelujah!! Thank you for your prayers, don't you ever doubt the impact they're having. We watch the wonders that come because of all of them often. Please keep petitioning Heaven for these sweet kiddo's hearts to heal. It's a knock you straight to your knees sight.
Blessings. Keep singing. Maryuri sure is.
1 comment:
Hi Jen, I have so enjoyed your blog! After reading yesterday's entry, I have become somewhat jealous. Let me explain - Through our church and the Lighthouse Teen Center that I volunteer at on weekends, I see so many kids in need. It's difficult to explain, but the kids here have clothes, food, an education - all the things you would think a kid needs to succeed. What they don't have, and what is difficult to provide for them, is an atmosphere of love, kindness, Christian teaching, forgivenss, encouragement, etc. We have all kinds of activities, bible studies, concerts for them, but they go home at night to an environment that is unhealthy(for lack of a better word). My jealousy comes from the fact that you get to keep your kids all the time and I have to send the kids I am in contact with back to that unhealthy environment. Some people shouldn't be allowed to be parents,but it is such a generational thing. Well, enough of my rambling. Keep up the good work! Tell Ashley I said HI!
Kelly Hardman -khardman@morganmha.org
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