You are Special

Greg and the boys got up and out the door to La Pintana shortly after breakfast today (it was a work day for me).  They did kids' church at Hogar with some of the girls still there despite this being the second week into winter break.  The focus today was "You are Special," a book by Max Lucado.  If you haven't read it, it's a great book for young and old.  The book is about how what God thinks about is what really matters (not what other people think about us), and that God thinks we're great just the way we are.  We got a copy of the book in Spanish before we left, and Daniel read it to the girls.

After we were done reading the book, Greg handed out stickers.  In the book, people put stickers on each other - as a symbol of what that person thinks about the other.  The main character learns that he can go to the carpenter, God, and the stickers will fall off.  Anytime the main characters believe what God thinks rather than what another person thinks, the stickers cannot stick.  The girls came up to a cross we had made and put their stickers on the cross.  They liked this, but they especially liked the candy we brought as a treat for the end of kids' church.

After kids church they played some soccer together and played with the puppies.  The sweet girl next to Noah especially likes to play soccer with us.  She's wearing Noah's Chile soccer hat.  She especially likes Greg, and each day asks him if we are coming back tomorrow ("Manana?!")  I tell you what, if we could take her home with us we would (but unfortunately Chile does not allow for international adoptions).  We can't bear the thought of the day when we can't say we are coming back tomorrow.

When I see Greg with these girls it so clear how happy they are to be around him.  Many of them either did not have a father in their home (on the bus we see many girls who seem to be barely 15 years old with babies) or they had a father that hurt them, causing the girl to be removed from the home.  They also love the boys so much for the same reason.  I'm so happy that they can have men like Greg and Daniel around them, and boys like Noah, Griff, Wil, Dylan and our friend Jacob (in the soccer picture above) who can cherish them the way they should always be cherished by the men in their lives.

A little before 2:00 p.m. and the girls at Hogar were called in for lunch.  Greg, the boys and Jacob (Wille and Patti's son) went back to Casa Esperanza.  Patti had saved some lunch for them, and as always it was really good.  Every time we come Patti seems to send us home with something, and today I'm not sure what it was but boy was it good.  The best way to describe what she sent home was a bag full of small, cinnamon twists - almost like pie crust, but way yummier.  After lunch Jacob brought out his Chile soccer stuff - horns, flags and other things.  The boys danced around and played the horns all at once.  This went on for quite awhile and was quite the site to behold according to Greg.

We continue to be moved beyond words when we are in La Pintana.  We stand out everywhere we go in Santiago, but especially in La Pintana.  People look at us and the expression on their faces say, "What are you doing HERE?!"  On the bus in the morning, a young boy saw Dylan and gave him the little toy he was playing with.  This afternoon on the bus a woman gave each of the boys a marshmallow candy.  We are the ones that should be bringing things to give them!  And here they are, blessing us wherever we go.  It is very humbling.  We have so much, and yet the poor in some ways have more than we do.  They know what it really means to give.  They know what it really means to love because often that's all they have to give - and yet it's what God values the most (love!).  Like the little drummer boy, the song he played for the Lord was in some ways the best gift of all.

"There is one who scatters (gives), and yet increases all the more.  And there is one who witholds...and yet (this) results only in want."  (Proverbs 11:24)  My deepest desire is that our family would know what it means to "scatter" and to love.

Hope you have a great day!  Thanks for reading!