On Wednesday night a group of us staff went to a children's home called Betesda to make Christmas ornaments and read stories around the Christmas tree. When we arrived the kids were bathed and in thier pjs and sooooo excited to see us. Even though the casa hogar forgot that we were coming, they welcomed up with opened arms. We helped the beautiful children create ornaments for thier Christmas tree, then we all gathered around to hear a Max Lucado story read aloud in Spanish. The kids ate candy canes, snuggled with us in thier pjs, and fell asleep. It was a bittersweet evening for me. It breaks my heart to see these 20 some young children growing up in a group home. They do not get tucked into bed each night. They do not get mommy or daddy time. They do not get the individual love and encouragement that they so desperately crave. My heart was quiet and saddened by this reality. However these children were eating up the attention we were able to give them that night. One girl of about 9 was sitting next to me at the start of the story. By the the third page she had wiggled her way onto my lap. By the end of the story she was pretending to be asleep so we would carry her to bed. I remember doing that with my dad....
I was glad to have been a small part of the Lord's love for these kids that night. Please remember all the kids we work with this Christmas...
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