Sunny Days and Rainy Nights

I am mom to two very active little boys. At 2 and 3 years old, they are always playing and running around. The older they get, it seems the less time they want to spend cuddling with me in the hammock, or giving me hugs for no reason. Every once in a while they might come over and need me to kiss an “ouchie”, or want to drink a sippy cup by me, but once they spot a toy to play with, or a tv show they want to see, they are off!

Where we live, May is the start of our rainy season. For about six months straight it rains almost every night. Hard rain on our tin roof, mixed with thunder and lightning, is a guarantee that we’ll have some little visitors in our bed!

The other night as it was thundering, my 3-year-old told me that he needed to come in my bed, because he was scared. He laid down real close to me, and I put my arm around him. A few minutes later he whispered, “I’m not scared anymore, because mami has me!” A little later, I thought he was sleeping, and I moved my arm. He quickly grabbed it and put it around him again. He need to know I was there next to him as he fell asleep.

Isn’t it funny how during the day he is too busy doing his own thing to let me hold him, but all it takes is some loud rain at night, and he wants to be close to me. He wants to feel my arms around him, and know that he is safe, and that I will take care of him.

As I was laying there next to my son, I couldn’t help thinking that sometimes I act the same way in my relationship with God. When things are going well, and everything is “sunny”, it’s easy to feel like I don’t need to spend as much time with God. Sure, I’ll stop by and say a prayer, or maybe ask or thank Him for something specific going on in my life, but I don’t always focus on Him. Then those “rain clouds” move in, and I realize just how much I need Him. Suddenly, I need to feel His arms around me. I need to be reminded that He is near.

It’s sad that sometimes, it takes those tough times, for me to remember that God is there. Just like when I ask my boys to come and sit with me, or want them to take a break from playing, God is there wanting to spend time with us. He’s there, in the good and  bad times, but sadly, sometimes I let every day life get in my way of spending time with Him. 

Next time that I’m watching my boys play, and thinking about how much I want to be close to them, and spend time with them, maybe it will remind me that God wants the same things from me. He wants me to spend time with in His word, and talking to Him, and I need to be as close to Him on good days as I am on days when I am worried, or afraid.   

Greater Things Are Still To Be Done In This City

There is something about hearing a hymn or worship song that I know in English, being sung in Spanish that gets me every time. If you have never been in a church service that was in a different language, it’s a feeling that is hard to explain, but each time it hits me like a ton of bricks, that there are Christians, all over the world! Sometimes on sunday mornings I can’t help thinking about my church in the U.S.singing in English, the same song we are singing here in Spanish, and churches meeting underground praising God with the same song in their languages. It’s really neat to think about, and it’s a sure way to make you feel really small. For me it’s a reminder that I am one of millions of Christians in this world, but some how God still cares for me, and knows my name, and loves me! It’s an amazing thing to think about!

Last sunday, I had that moment while we were singing, “God of this City”:

“Grandes cosas vienen ya,
Grandes cosas Dios hará en este pueblo”

It seemed to be a really fitting song, because in the days before, I had just finished planning a bunch of things, and finalizing 2 of our 3 mission trips that will be taking place this summer. There are so many exciting things that we will be blessed to be a part of over this summer, and we are confident that:

“Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city”

We are looking forward to seeing what God has planned for us, and what doors He will open for us this summer!

 

A Grama’s Heart

I love my Grama. She has such a good heart, and really loves her family! Ever since I was a little kid, she has always been one of my biggest supporters. Whether she was coming to watch me sing a solo in a Christmas program, or cheering me up with some of her yummy baked goods on a bad day, she has always “had my back”!

Well, I’m not a little kid anymore, but she continues to show me her love and support all the time.

Whenever I am in the States, I am sure to spend a lot of time visiting my Grama in her nursing home. When I am there, she always tells me the same two things, “I pray for you every night” and “I love you very, very much”! Even at 2 and 3 years old, my sons know that whenever we see ”old Grama” or talk to her on video chat, that she will finish by reminding us that she prays for us and loves us!

When I first moved to El Salvador, it was hard for her to see me go. I remember clearly saying goodbye to her and my Pop-Pop, and praying that I’d see them again. I think the fact that my Pop-Pop died less than two months later, and I never got to see him after that day, has really made me appreciate the visits I have had with my Grama over the past five years.

When we first started, Hope and a Future Missions, my Grama was full of questions about the work we do, and the people we help. After hearing about the needs of people in El Salvador, she helped us with a fundraiser, selling crafts with the red hat society at her nursing home.

Yesterday, my Grama turned 85! When my mom first told her that they were going to have a party for her birthday, one of the first things she said, was that she didn’t need any presents. After talking it over with my mom, she decided that if people wanted to give her something, that they could make a donation in her name, to our mission. Thanks to her friends and family, $175 were donated to Hope and a Future Missions, in her honor!

We are so grateful for this donation, and my Grama’s willingness to help our mission! We look forward to using the money in June, for our Vacation Bible School. It will allow us to purchase supplies for the kids, and food for the families of kids who come!

I may not be able to see my Grama as often as I’d like, but I still “pray for her every night”, and “love her very, very much”!

Never Too Young

I love the way that kids think. You never know what they will say, or how much they are listening to things.

A few weeks ago, I bought some candy to put in the little goody bags we make up to give kids. When we got home my son asked me if he could have some candy, and I told him that he couldn’t, because it was for the ”otros niños” (other kids) that we see sometimes. Then I gave him a real quick explanation, something like, ”we give it to them to help them have a happy day.”

Two weeks later, I was in the grocery store with my 3 year-old, and he was excited to be pushing his own little cart. He felt like a big deal and was grabbing things he knows we always buy, like juice boxes, and rice. While I was putting a few things in my shopping cart, I looked over at him and saw him drop a big bag of candy into his cart. When I asked him why he took the candy, he told me, “I want to make otros niños happy too mami”!

Bless his heart, at 3 years old he is already thinking about other kids, who don’t have as much as he does. He’s not the only one either.

We have received an incredible amount of new, or barely used stuffed animals over the past few months. We love getting any donations, but there is something really special about these stuffed animals. Many of them were given to us by children who want to make a difference. Kids, who heard that there are other kids who have no toys, and were so shocked, that they had to do something about it. This really touches my heart. To hear stories about young children who searched through their own toys, to find a few for kids they don’t even know, in a country they have never even heard of…wow! What a blessing!

 Today we were blessed again…

My mom had the opportunity to go to my old school, West Sayville Christian School in N.Y. to talk about Hope and a Future Missions, and show the kids some pictures. After telling the kids what things are like in El Salvador, she asked if anyone had any questions. Several kids did. She got asked all kinds of things like, do kids play sports in El Salvador, are there churches there, where do people without indoor plumbing go to the bathroom, what does El Salvador mean, and my favorite, are there wild animals, like lions there? This is why I love kids, they are always thinking!

The school has a chapel service every Wednesday morning, and the offering they collect for the month of April is going to be donated to our mission. My mom explained that we’d be using the money to buy some plastic tables and chairs, so that when we do kid’s activities, like VBS, the kids will have a place to sit, and make their projects. The students were surprised to learn that we had been doing VBS on the side of the road, with children sitting on the ground on a sheet. All the students agreed, that the tables sounded like a better idea!

Before she left, my mom handed out bracelets that said “El Salvador” to each student in the whole school. She told them that the bracelet can be a reminder to pray for the people in El Salvador, and Hope and a Future Missions. I can only imagine what the stories were like around the dinner table tonight, about kids in El Salvador who don’t have clothes, or who go to bed hungry!

Praise God for these children who are learning at an early age what it means to give, and to care for others. Who knows how they are touching lives by selflessly giving a child who is underprivlidged a toy, or whose heart may be touched during a Vacation Bible School lesson around one of those plastic tables!

You are never too young to be a blessing in someone else’s life.

 

Mission Work with Family

Just over a week ago we went and handed out some items in all three of the locations where we work. It was a special day for us, because my family from New York had come to visit, and would be helping us, and seeing where we work. One of my sisters has been here multiple times for mission trips, but for the rest of the family, it was a real eye opener.

While driving through one neighborhood my nine year-old brother saw what he though was a neat fort for kids to play in. When we explained that it was actually a house where a whole family lived, he was both shocked and sad.

At the first location, we handed out Easter goody bags for kids, and tote bags filled with food, like rice and soup, for each family. The people were so thankful for the food. Many of them struggle to feed their families, so they are very happy when they see us coming!

In another area, we brought grooming kits for each family, and some more goody bags for the kids. The kids in this area were especially excited to see us coming, because they knew we’d have something special for them!

In the last area where we went, we brought dozens of flip-flops. We knew these would be a big hit, especially for the children in this area, because many are usually barefoot. When we arrived in the neighborhood, several of the kids were playing soccer, some were playing with no shoes on. When they saw the flip-flops they were very excited.

It was great experience to see these kids walking home with shoes on their feet. For many of them it has been a while since they have owned any.

We are so thankful, not only for all the donationed items we were able to handout, but that we could share the experience with family. They were able to see first hand what Hope and a Future Missions does, and feel the joy of being able to help these families who are in need.

March

March has been a really great month for us here at, Hope and a Future Missions. As you know the boxes of stuff to donate have finally arrived, and we got a van donated to us, but there is more. We also had someone donate $18+ of cans and bottles to us, which was an unexpected bonus, and we finished our first fundraiser of the year, which was a huge success!

When we first talked about doing the February fundraiser, we were hoping that a lot of people would learn a little more about El Salvador, pray for us, and maybe raise $400 if we could get enough people to participate in it. Well, as it turns out, LOTS of people, “Have a Heart for El Salvador” because in this fundraiser we raised just over $700! We could not believe how great this fundraiser was! Not only did we raise hundreds more than we thought, but we figure, if we raised all that, there must have been lots of prayers being said too, and that is priceless!

We are so grateful for the congregations of West Sayville Reformed Bible Church, and Christ Community Church, for taking part in this fundraiser, as well as all the other friends who prayed for us, and supported us throughout the month!

This March is also the first handout we are doing of the New Year. We are very excited because we will have some special helpers coming all the way from New York to work with us handing out a bunch of great stuff this weekend. I have been busy organizing all those new items, and getting everything ready to give out.

In one location we will be handing out TONS of flip-flops!

This box is full of brand new flip-flops, and kids and adults in this location will be blessed to walk away with these shoes on their feet! I guarantee there will a few kids who will be there barefoot, so seeing these families all leave with shoes on will be very exciting!

In another location, we will be handing out some food. Each family will get a tote bag that has some ramen soups, chips, and rice in them, plus a little note wishing them a Happy Easter, and a verse to remind them what Easter is truly about.

The kids in this area will all receive a little goody bag. Each bag has some candy, cookies, a whistle, an Easter maze with a verse on it, and a crayon to do the maze!

The last location where we are going will be getting bags of grooming items.

These bags have items like, razors, toothbrushes, lotion, shower gel, toothpaste, soap, and the Easter note. The bags will be one per family, so we have tried to make sure that there is a little something for everyone!

The kids in this location will get these little goody bags. They are similar to the others, but have a mini pinball game instead of a whistle.

We are excited to be able to bring this stuff to the families this weekend. Thank you to all those who have donated the items we are handing out, or money so that we could purchase things like, food, crayons, candy and small toys to give out!

Inside the Small Box

A few weeks ago, I wrote about all the great things we received inside a huge box. We recently got another box that was sent to us, and though it was smaller, it was still FULL of great stuff for us to hand out!

Just take a look at what was inside:

A family friend works for a dentist office, and was able to get 288 tubes of toothpaste and these 63 toothbrushes donated to us! It may seem crazy to think that a toothbrush could be a big deal, but many of these families do not have toothbrushes, or have to share one toothbrush for the whole family, so these will be a huge blessing to them!

We also found a box with dozens of hand creams, and lotions that one lady who used to sell MaryKay donated! These will be a great addition to the bags of grooming items that we will be making up, and handing out in a few weeks!

We also received this box with over a hundred razors! We are excited that we can give each family a razor in the bags as well!

In addition to all of these items, we also got a bunch of donations of things like mini shampoos, conditioners, lotions, and more! Here you can see I have started to separate them so that each family will get a little bit of everything!

No box is ever complete without some clothes, and this one was no exception. We also found 36 MORE pairs of flip-flops that didn’t make it into the big box!

Thanks so much to everyone who donated these items! We know they will be a real blessing to the families who get them. I know it is hard to imagine, but to these people even these small bottles of shampoo, or a used t-shirt is often more than they have now. These little things mean a lot to them, so thank you!