Playing with Clarisa at the monkey bars

I have been thinking so much today of Guatemala and trying to refocus my mind  to get back on the mission that's in my heart. Been feeling distracted through the business of what is considered life here in the states. This scripture came to mind:

"Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." (Romans 12:2 NLT)

I am becoming a busybody, doing, doing, doing to the point where I felt physically sick this evening. "Slow down" is what was being heard in my head. I sat down for about 30 minutes today (waiting for a friend to join me for dinner) and came to the realization that I was not letting God transformed my mind, thoughts, actions. The circumstances around me were doing that which have ended me here. Thanks be to God for helping me and reminding me of what His perfect plan is: to live in the center of His will. 

This brings me to being reminded of Clarisa. While in Guatemala this past February I met this super clingy, somewhat fussy little chunk of love. This was the second time she had been at the orphanage because she had been taken from her family due to a judges decision and placed at the Hogar (this is what the orphanage prefers to be called; "Home"). We were informed that it took Clarisa a few months to get adjusted to being at the Hogar and had to be taught and guided through her emotions. Before being reunited with her parents, she was a happy, good tempered girl (this took a lot of work from the women in the Hogar). When I met Clarisa it was her second time being sent to the Hogar. We were told that all the hard work from the previous time of getting her to be a little more emotionally stable, went to the gutters when she went back home and they were starting all over again. Though Clarisa was a little bit of an emotional wreck, well for her age, I had a good time walking around with her and playing with her. I'm not sure if Clarisa has been sent back home or not, but the work that the women do is breathtaking! It takes a lot of dedication and hard work on their parts to help a child control their emotions. This scares me a little and brings things into perspective that God is asking me to work. However, this is not me, it's Him working through me and in me. I'm looking forward to seeing how God is going to continue to transform the way I think. It's scary and exciting! 

Running the race.

Today I participated on a 5K called The Color Run. I had been training since I am not a jogger. One scripture comes to mind:

Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NLT)

Ok, so I was not the best at training. I did however have a goal; to finish in one hour. Guess what? I finished in an hour. I would push myself every so often to jog and not just walk. This "race" is not timed and therefore many people walk the whole time. There were also a lot of children who participated. It was nice to see their excitement as they crossed the area where they were being showered with color. 

My favorite part was the end. Haha! Not because it was over, but on the last part of the race my coworker met me there to finish the run together. That was very touching. 

Made me think of something very important. The scripture above does not mention anything about training with a partner or running the race with others. However, there are so many scriptures that talk about helping each other and loving each other. I am looking forward to doing this again and hopefully I will be able to jog more. 

Feeding the Homeless.

I would like for you to meet Jessica. She is 19 years old and has a beautiful 3 year old daughter named Liliana. I had the privilege of meeting both of them as well as others in Santa Ana this past Sunday. A friend started "Operation Feed the Homeless" a few years back. He is an inspiration because he saw a need and his desire was to provide for the people In Santa Ana. This past Sunday I went for the first time not knowing what to expect. I knew that not all of the people who come to grab a meal were homeless. However, I knew that I would encounter something different than what I am used to. My cousins came and wanted to participate by bringing food and gifts for the 2 children whose birthday they were celebrating.

Jessica was telling me that she has decided to go back to school and get her diploma after being out of school these past 3 years. As we talked I could see a sense of pride in her eyes. Not the bad kind, the kind that brightens up the world a little more. I'm so proud of her for making the decision to go back and finish what she had started. I asked about college and she said , "Isn't that expensive?" I know that God has a plan. The scripture that comes to mind is Jeremiah,
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” (Jeremiah 29:11-14 NIV)

My prayer is that Jessica knows that there are people rooting for her to succeed on life and that God is cheering even louder for her as she continues to persevere.

Round trip ticket to Guatemala.

I finally paid for my ticket to Guatemala. I was really nervous and excited to finally make it legitimate. I will be flying out on the 27th of July and coming back September 2nd. I don't know what to expect or what exactly I will be doing. All I know is that I will be there to serve.

I read a scripture today that I read a few weeks back. It's Matthew 25:31-(the end of the chapter). One things that Katie from the book "Kisses From Katie" talks about is how serving the poor is something that God demands of us. It's not just something that we should occasionally do, but it should be a lifestyle. I think living in wealthy Orange County it's sometimes hard to comprehend what true poverty looks like. I was asked to share about the medical mission for church this upcoming Sunday and for a quick second I started to feel a little nervous. My prayer is that I can inspire at least one more person to serve or to give financially to the cause. I have been practicing on what I am going to say, I pray that the Spirit of God moves my lips and shares what's on His heart.

I, once again, looked at my debt that I need to pay and I can get a little overwhelmed by the amount, but I know it will be worth it being free from loans and live the life that God has set forth for me to live. I want to live in the center of His will.

How can I help the Poor?

The more people I run into who want to help those in need the more I realize that there are people who genuinely want to help, but don't know how. A few months ago a family friend shared with me a story that really impacted me. When she was a child her mother was not able to take care of her and her siblings. Her mom took them to a village up on the hills of Tijuana, Mexico to live with her aunt and uncle. They were so poor that shoes were a luxury. She shared that a Christian group came to her village to hand out clothing and other necessities. She ended up with a pair of boy boots. She later ended up with blisters because she did not own socks. Wow, socks? That's all, just socks? I was a little sad that without a piece of cotton on your feet can cause so much pain. Not that long ago we did a show drive for the children in Tecate. Many people had donated used and new pairs of shoes. Unfortunately we were not able to give to all the children because we were missing certain sizes. HOWEVER, most were so excited with their new, to them, pair of shoes. After the conversation with the family friend, I realized that many of the children in Tecate do not have socks. After discussing it with Glenda (the woman who started the trips) we agreed to do a sock drive. To my shame, it has been probably 2 months and we have not done anything about it. While in Boston last week I attended church and guess what they were doing for the poor??? A Sock Drive!!! I knew God was reminding me to make a move. Ok, God is so amazing! 
So here we are attempting to collect socks for the families who live at the village in Tecate, Mexico. I was so excited because we received the first donation. I know that God is going to multiply it and we are going to be amazed of what He is going to do.

“Look at the nations and watch— and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. (Habakkuk 1:5 NIV)

If you would like to donate socks please let me know.

Orphans

I saw this picture of how often children are left without a parent. Every 18 seconds...I am speechless. Yesterday a friends father died and he lived a good life. He had a strong faith which helped him through the toughest 2 years if his life as he battled the excruciating pain of throat cancer. My friend is doing well, obviously missing his dad. My friend has a job, his sister's are also not struggling financially. Then I think of the children in Uganda who are left to fend for themselves because there Is no one to look after them. I dislike how difficult it is to adopt, the amount of paperwork and money it takes is devastating for those who cannot afford it. I completely understand that in the past people have adopted children out Of the country for sexual pleasure, to kill them and sell their organs and some have been abused. It breaks my heart that even some have stolen children and sold them. I guess laws and rules are placed for a reason. It still brings me back to the picture I saw of how many people claim to be Christians, yet do nothing! Is it lack of understanding of how to help? Is it ignorance? Is it shame? I wonder if it's also a lack of trust? Who wants to give money to someone, an organization, a stranger? I want to do my part. I don't know what that means. All I know is that there's a little boy in Guatemala name Diego who has stollen my heart. A friend told me that Diego will marry her daughter when they get older to make him legal. It was quite funny when she mentioned it. It made me hope. I pray that we all can do our part in taking care of those who have been left behind to fend for themselves.

Serving the Poor; Tecate, Mexico

About 12 years my friend Glenda Moreno had a desire to serve the poor, but more specifically orphans. Her friend +dominic luu Encouraged her to go after it. I don't think she thought he was serious about pursuing her dream. Before you knew it they took their first trip to Tecate, Mexico. In the past 12 years they have served a boy's orphanage, a girl's orphanage, a village and an elderly home.  We go every month and it fluctuates on how many people come with us. Sometimes 12 other times there's almost 30 volunteers.

We went this past weekend and there were about 25 volunteers. We meet in Irvine, buy food before we leave and make the drive to Tecate. Let me share with you a little about the different places we go. We don't visit all the sites the same day due to time. However, we do attempts to visit 2-3 sites.

The Girl's Orphanage
The number of girls fluctuates because some end up going back to live with family. All of these girls have a relative or parents who see them every weekend. The government is trying to have the children stay connected with family. You may think this may be a good thing, but I am not too sure if it's the safest thing for some of these girls. They were taken away for a reason. I understand that we all need the motherly love, but some of these girls who have gone through abuse, it's not the best solution. One girl who went back with her mom was then murdered by her brother who was on drugs and when the mother came home, he also killed her. This is the kind of trauma these children have lived through. Our mission is to LOVE. We have such a great time playing with them, doing arts and crafts, and painting their nails. We have even helped out making their dream quinseañera come true. Here are some pictures.

The Boy's Orphanage

The boy's are a little different because they love to be rough and are a lot more active. They like to play soccer, basketball and Angry Birds. As soon as we get there they want to use our phones to play games. There are about 47 boys and about 5 or so of them are orphans, without any extended families who have claimed them. The mission there is the same, to LOVE them, play with them and sometimes we will share a meal together. 

The Village
There are about 25 families who live in a very poor area on the outskirts of Tecate. However, there's about 45 families total who show up, sometimes more. They live next to the city dump and they dig through the trash to collect metal to sell and be able to buy food and other necessities. We bring them food, clothes, toys for the children and other donations. In February a woman donated 35 blankets. One for each family. We try to be attentive to each need. For example, one of the ladies was pregnant and she needed baby boy clothes and a stroller. We cannot provide specific needs for every single family, but we at least give the basic necessity which is food. We have seen a lot of their children grow, some families have moved away and the ones who move in and have not even pots and pans, by the grace of God, that trip someone had donated what was needed. Each family come with a bucket and we fill it up with the food that was donated or that we bought that morning.

 You can never go wrong with beans and rice with Mexicans ;)

Elderly Home

We make a drive about 45 minutes from Tecate to a town called La Rumorosa. We visit a home where there are about 50 men, of which the majority of them are disabled and abandoned. they love it when we come. We talk to them, sing worship songs, and we have even helped clean the walls. It's in the middle of a high desert so the weather is HOT in the summer and super COLD in the winter. Here is a clip of us singing.

We end the day with some Tacos. We get home late and exhausted, but it's all worth it! It's all for the glory of God, because it's only through Him that we do this and because of the example that Christ has given us.

 

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