Christmas Time

December is a time of celebration for the kids at Hogar de Esperanza first of all because school has ended. The kids are just happy about that. Then there are a lot of extra programs because it is Christmas, and especially because this year so many have identified with the kids and their situation. We have actually had to limit the offers of people coming in because of the interest. I was there for one program put on by a group of women in a prayer group. It included a small choir clips from the nativity movie and acting. I know this is going to be hard for some of you to believe, but the kids were quiet the entire time. They didn’t even know about the ice cream sundaes at the end and the gifts. They were just silent because they were interested.

As far as support goes you know that there is a way to give now though Pioneers and if you have been led by the Lord to give then you should go ahead and give. We are also in conversation with another organization that could be a more permanent solution to the problem, so please pray for that. We have received a few gifts, and I was just contacted by a church today who would like to give monthly for 2013, and that is great. We still have a long way to go though in terms of being fully supported. Thanks for your help!

Caring for the Orphans

As I have become more immersed in the ministry of Hogar de Esperanza, I have been inadvertently doing a study on the orphans that we are caring for and the ones who care for them, through simple observations in my own life and the lives of others. I want to share some thoughts with you on this. Since coming back here last year from Canada and starting my weekly visits to the orphanage to talk with kids about their lives and help them with their problems, I have felt more and more of a connection to the kids, a feeling that has only intensified as I have come to know them and the vulnerability of their situation. I think that this is normal for most people to have this instinct to want to help out. I believe that it is especially true for every believer in Christ as we have a spiritual inspired instinct to help father the fatherless. After all we have been adopted, we have received that mercy, and in turn, we want to show compassion to others.

Of course the most complete expression of this is to adopt a child or children. I remember reading of a tribal work where the first person in the tribe to come to a knowledge of Christ’s salvation made an independent personal decision to go against the tribal custom of shunning an orphaned child as bad luck and took him in as his own. This speaks much to the natural fruit of the presence of God’s Spirit in a soul. Here is a man, (men are often not considered the most nurturing) who chose to care for a boy (little girls are often the ones that we are most ready to help) and he goes against the grain of everything that he has been taught by his society and what they held to spiritually. Adoption is a great expression of the grace of our God, and I know that some of you that are reading these thoughts have taken this route.

In this moment though, the focus of my thoughts go to those of us who want to help these vulnerable children, but we are not in a position to do so, or have not been directed by the Lord to adopt. Certainly those of us who have seen the kids, those who have been in contact with them, feel a desire to adopt… all of them, or maybe just move in and parent them where they are at until they are grown. Then when we consider this and it is not a possibility, we feel guilt for not going all the way, and in our uncertainty on how to deal with this guilt, we decide to do nothing. How can we be okay when we have not become completely personally involved? Are we okay in this position? Have we sacrificed enough? Maybe because of these questions we decide to remove ourselves from the uncomfortable position of feeling less than 100% committed and we distance ourselves from the reminder of our struggle, the kids themselves.

This is my struggle, I have “imprinted” with these kids, and although I have not thought about removing myself from the situation, I have been trying to work through the feelings I have to get to where I need to be to do the most I can to serve the Lord and them in this situation. Since I am a fairly normal human being, I suspect that there are others who struggle through these emotions, especially anyone who has spent time with a parentless child. The first thing I believe that we need to realize is that God is “a father to the fatherless” (Psalm 68:5), and we can trust Him with that role. The sovereign Creator is ultimately the one who cares more and has a better plan than any of us, and so our only responsibility is to figure out what He wants from us. This is the second part and the harder part for us as human beings who always want to think we should be the ones directing and not the ones accepting roles.

For those who are called to adopt, it is taking that plunge to accept the day-to-day responsibility of caring for and nurturing this child that God has placed in your hands. For those children of God who have been called to a different role their struggle, their sacrifice is different. It is accepting the position that may feel like you are taking the middle of the road. You accept part of the responsibility to care for the child or the children, without claiming the prize and having them to hold in your arms on a day-to-day basis. Let me tell you this is a huge struggle; this is a holy sacrifice that needs to be made as well. Why you ask? Because not everybody is in a position to adopt, not everyone has been called by God to do this as there are other roles to be fulfilled in His kingdom and not all children are adoptable either. Half of the kids in Hogar de Esperanza are in this position. They have parents, but it is worse than if they did not, as those parents have not cared for them. Some have abused them, and others have used them in the worst ways, as business items. This leaves them as children confused about where their loyalties should lie. They think, “But they are my parents, they say they love me; they want me to come back. Is it the orphanage or the judge’s fault that our family has been torn apart?” We must be advocates and protectors of these children and provide a place for them to be safe, to grow, and to learn of God’s grace.

So let’s please think carefully about what God has called us to do without being manipulated by false guilt that would only inhibit us fulfilling our role. Let’s move forward, making firm decisions and carrying them out to the best of our ability, so that we can accomplish the goal that is in the heart of God, the care and salvation of these abandoned children. Should the Lord want us to adopt great, if He wants us to live with and work directly with the kids, that’s good too. It may even be that His calling for us is to minister to the children from afar, getting to know them, praying for them personally and providing for their physical needs as well through a sponsorship program. Whatever it is that God is directing us to do, let’s just fulfill our calling.

Steve Twinem (Board of Hogar de Esperanza)

Que Dios les bendiga,