Yems

Yesterday morning I found myself sitting in a small office as I was anxiously waiting to meet Yems, one of the children who I have been sponsoring through Compassion International for a few years. What will the day be like? What are we going to do? I hope he enjoys the day. I have been living in Lima for two and half years already, and I figured that I needed to take advantage of the fact that Yems and I are living in the same city. I contacted Compassion in the States, and they were more than happy to set everything up for me.

Yems and his mom walked through the door, and they were presented to me by some of the staff workers here in Peru. It was a surprise to them that I was able to speak Spanish. They were worried that it would not be very easy to communicate through a translator. We had a really nice day. I was able to take them out to the "Parque de las Leyendas," a very large zoo / archeological attraction here in Lima. After our very full morning at the zoo, we went out to lunch. As we walked around I had the opportunity to learn more about his family and his dreams. Yems wants to study to be a translator. He wants to learn English and Italian. He also really enjoys art. Time flew by, and before we knew it, it was time to say our goodbyes.

Throughout my travels in Peru I have noticed a similar quality in many people here who are living in poverty--they often don't believe in themselves or think very highly of themselves. In a way they begin to accept their place in society. They begin to accept that they are sub-par human beings. One of my greatest joys in life is to help people recognize those lies and to tell them about the hope that they have in Christ. In Christ we are heirs to the throne (Gal. 4:6, 7), we are free from condemnation (Rom. 8:1), and we are more than conquerors (Rom. 8:37). I was greatly blessed by the opportunity to spend time with Yems and his mother yesterday. It was a perfect opportunity to affirm them and build them up, to encourage Yems in his studies, and to remind them that they are loved.

Yems, his mother, and I