Reflection from a Missionary….

A reflection from one of our November Missionaries…. “Feeling so blessed to be home & loving on my kiddos today, but my heart and mind keeps going back to this particular moment in Honduras. This sweet girl is one of our newest kids at the orphanage and came from a very awful situation. We had been blessed with sponsors for this child right away.  They had been able to send down letters and a gift for her for Christmas. Since she was new, she really didn’t know why we were asking her to come into the office (we call in the kids 1 at a time to make that moment special, read their sponsors letter, etc), so I explained we had found her a sponsor & even though she hadn’t met them in person, they cared about her and were praying for her each day. We read her letters from her Padrinos, then pulled out her gifts. She squealed with joy and grabbed me and hugged me so tight I thought my head might pop off! The reaction was genuine joy and gratitude. She’d never in her life received gifts. We were all brought to tears with her reaction… A mix of heartbreak for where she had come from, and joy for where she is now. The last night as we said goodbye she again hugged me fiercely, this time not letting go for a long time… Then she looked at me, with tears in her eyes & said, “You’ve treated me more like a mother than my mother ever did. Thank you.” My heart aches for her tonight. As we all get busy in the craziness of preparing for the holidays, I would ask each of you to give one extra gift this year-the gift of prayer for children just like her. Heavenly Father, please bless these children with safety, with loving care, with a spirit of forgiveness, and most of all with hope and faith in You. Amen”