Hands and Feet

This may sound like a typical missionary cliche, but I am so immensely blessed by living here in this country, working with this team, and having 55 little brothers. I am also incredibly blessed by the support we receive here at Jovenes by our brothers and sisters from home. Compared to most centers like ours, we receive MUCH more help from the US, including financial gifts, physical gifts, and just being present.

As any young child or adult, the boys can easily get carried away by gifts or “material things”, especially since most of them grew up without. But from what I’ve observed by being here almost 1 year is that what matters most to them is that one simply “shows up”. I recently wrote an e-mail to some friends who came down to visit, and my biggest point in the e-mail was that they are heroes to these boys because they showed up. A lot of the parents of these boys (those who are still alive) have failed to do simply that - be present in the lives of their children.

Some, unfortunately, have no option. They simply cannot make enough money to sustain their children, and they have taken what they believe is a better life for their son. Another unfortunate matter is that this parent is few and far between in the case of our boys. Every Saturday parents are encouraged to come visit and spend the day with their boy(s). The usual few families come, but its not more than 3 or 4 on a good day.

So now maybe you can see why simply being present in these boys’ lives is extremely important. I mean, isn’t that what Jesus does in our lives? He shows up. Every day. He’s there for us. He is the only one who will never ever let us down. And why is that? Because he is “omnipresent”. He is always there for you. That is the beauty of one’s relationship with God. We can ignore him for days on end, and when we “need him”, he’s still there- just waiting for us to come home. This is why we love visitors here at JEC. The boys love to feel loved. They want to feel wanted. With almost 20 boys in each house, that sometimes becomes difficult. We want the best for them, but sometimes we cannot fulfill that constant need for attention which all children have. So when one of you comes to visit these boys, you are just that - Jesus. For one moment, one hour, or one day, you become Jesus to them. You sit with them. You share a snack with them. Perhaps you don’t have a single clue what they said, but you are THERE. That is what matters. Just like Jesus, you show up.

So thank you. Thank you to all our visitors for being here. We love you, we cherish you, and we can’t wait to see you again someday.