A couple of weeks ago a girl from Pennsylvania named Brittney had the opportunity to come and visit our boys' home in Ica. She has been living in Ica for the past few months working as a volunteer for the church where Augusto and Nancy (the house parents) attend, and the church's youth group had a big event here that Brittany was a part of. She really didn't know anything about our program for abandoned boys, and because she was so busy with the event that the church was holding on our property, she really didn't have the chance to get to know us very well. But that didn't stop the Lord from touching her heart.
Now fast forward a couple of weeks to this past Sunday. Augusto, Nancy, and I saw Brittany at church. She had just arrived from Lima because she had gone to pick up some of her family and friends who were here to visit. She told us that she was really impacted when she saw and heard about our program for abandoned boys, and she wanted to do something to bless them. She talked with her family, and they decided that they were going to buy Christmas gifts for each of the boys. We were all excited at the idea, so they asked us to come to the pastor's house where they were staying around 5:00pm last night to help organize the gifts. We had no idea what we were in for!
Augusto and I arrived last night at exactly 5:00pm...Peruvian time! For those of you who aren't acquainted with Latin American time, that means that we arrived at the pastor's house just after 6:00pm :-) Personally I was expecting something small for each boy (perhaps a Hot Wheels car or a frisbee). And something small would have been a huge blessing, but they decided that they wanted to buy a nice toy or game for each kid at the home. We walked into the living room, and were blown away by what Brittany and her family had done for us! There were action figures, and firetrucks that had lights and sounds. There were board games and soccer balls. Apart from all of that, Brittany's 5 year-old brother also sent a number of his personal toys with the family to give to the boys because he wanted to donate in some way as well. The other huge blessing was that Brittany's mom brought an entire suitcase full of clothes that no longer fit the little brother. The clothes are just the right size for our two smallest boys here at the home. One is five years old, and the other is six years old, but they are both the size of a kid who is 4 years old. Augusto was sharing with me that when clothes donations are made to the homes, very rarely does anything come that fits these two smallest boys.
All of the presents!
This morning Brittany and her family came to the home with all of the gifts wrapped and ready for Christmas. They played American football with the boys, we went for a swim in the pool, and then they presented the gifts. What a huge blessing for the boys here. I was at the point of tears when I saw all of the presents and the joy on the boys' faces. Really, we all know that Christmas is not all about material gifts or possessions, but to be able to hand one of these kids a present on Christmas morning is doing so much more than just giving him a new toy to play with. When he is given that gift, the message is that yes, his life does matter, and yes, he really is loved by us--and more importantly, by Christ.
Wrapped and ready to go
The boys with their presents!
"Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him, and praise His name." Psalm 100:4
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