Internship @ Pan de Vida in Querétaro, México

We recently returned to Guadalajara from a 3-day internship at another Christian orphanage in México.  We traveled to Querétaro which is about 4 hours away from Guadalajara to visit an orphanage called Pan de Vida (Bread of Life).  The orphanage has about 80 boys and girls.

This is one of the best run orphanages that I have seen.  They are so organized and orderly.  The majority of the orphanages that I've been to are either super organized with a very strict regiment and almost military style schedule or the complete opposite with no structure at all.  We want our orphanage to have a healthy balance between the two styles.  We want structure, order and organization, but also want it to be balanced with times to relax and hang out as a family and bond.

The first night at this orphanage was what most impacted me.  I got to spend the night with the girls.  One thing that I definitely miss is working with girls (the 2 orphanages we work with in Guadalajara are all boys).  Before going to bed, we all stood in a circle and held hands and took turns praying.  It was so amazing to get to hear a little 5 year old girl pray.  The prayers of a child are so simple but are truly from the heart.  I loved it.  And then one of the girls wanted to sing, so we started to sing with all of the girls for a good 30-45 minutes.  It was so much fun.  After singing one of the older girls said that we should all sit down and share our life-stories.  So we all sat down in the circle and went around sharing about our pasts and how God has changed our lives.

We sat in a circle.  5 year old girls. 10 year old girls.  18 year old girls.  All of them so different.  Coming from different pasts.  Some of them raped as young girls.  Some of them beaten by their parents.  Some of their parents in prison.  Grew up in poverty.  But all of them one family.  In all of these girls you can see one thing in common.  The presence of Jesus in their hearts.  I have never seen children like this.  Children who really love Jesus.  God is truly working in their hearts.  His work is evident in their lives.  These girls are real.  They are genuine.  I walked out that night talking with the other girls on my team and I kept repeating that "these girls are so real".  My teammates laughed at me.  But it is true.  These girls are real.  They are transparent.  They are genuine.

During the trip we were also able to make contact with another Christian orphanage in another city about 2 hours away from Guadalajara.  They invited us to do an internship with them, most likely in January.  Overall this trip was incredible for us to really continue forming our vision of how we want our orphanage to look like.  Taking the pros and cons of each orphanage and mixing together what we feel is best and most effective for the children.

These kids are changing.

I've been reflecting on these past 5-6 months here.  These kids are truly changing.  People's lives are being changed.  We have put 100% of ourselves into these kids' lives.  And I'm not going to lie, it is hard, but to see the changes that we have witnessed make it all worth it...

One night we had to discipline a kid for disobeying and not showing respect.  He was angry and said that he never wanted to see us again. The next morning we walk through the front door greeted by a hug, asking for forgiveness and thanking us for disciplining him.  These kids understand that we have to discipline them, because we love them and truly care about them.

Last night we were all playing in the street in front of the orphanage playing tag and tackle.  Boys will be boys!  haha  You would never find little girls having fun running after and tackling each other, but anyways...  One of the younger boys (Robby) fell down and scraped his knees and started crying but all of the other kids kept running.  Two of the boys (Luis and Nahum) stopped and helped him up and took care of him telling him that he would be alright.  These kids really do care about each other.

A couple of nights ago I was putting the younger kids to bed.  We were telling bed-time stories and then I asked the kids if I could pray for them before going to bed.  So I prayed for the kids and before saying goodnight, I told them that I thought it was so awesome that we can talk to Jesus when we have problems, when we are frustrated, when we don't understand, when we are sad, etc.  I shared with them that I've been praying for somebody I know who is pretty sick and who is probably going to pass away, because they don't know Jesus, and that according to the Bible when they pass away if they have rejected the gospel that they wouldn't be going to Heaven.

One of the kids (Cesar) spoke up and tried to console me in telling me that:
 "Well, I think since he was a good person and everything that Jesus would let him into Heaven."  
I then explained to him that actually the Bible says that is not true.  Then I was getting ready to explain more, but the 8 year old (Braulio) jumped in the conversation.  The 8 year old (Braulio) told the 9 year old (Cesar),
"Actually, you can't get into Heaven because you are a good person.  You have to know Jesus.  You have to receive His grace.  He died on the cross for our sins.  We're not perfect and we sin.  We've all told lies.  How are we supposed to go to Heaven with a perfect God is we're not perfect?  Jesus died for our sins so that through His grace we can know God and go to Heaven."

His exact words.  Not mine.  The 8 year old explained the gospel to the 9 year old.

This is what I'm talking about!!!  Their lives are being changed.  They are sharing the gospel amongst themselves.  They are praying for each other.  One of the youth (Martin-13yrs)  was baptized last Saturday.  Every night the kids ask us to pray for them and fight over who gets to be prayed for first.  They love it!

These kids are changing.  Jesus is working in their lives.