Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
I encouraged the boys to seek God and to read His Word, even when it seems like God's not there or isn't talking to them; I encouraged them to keep sowing.
Anyway, with multiple staff going on vacations and such, this week I was moved into the middle-aged boys' room. There are three groups/dormitories in the boys' house: Los Chiquitos (eight of the younger boys aging from about 3-9), Los Medianos (The nine middle-aged boys aged from about 10-13), and Los Grandes (The six older boys aged from 13-16). Each night, there is a person responsible in each room to make sure the boys go to bed, wake up in the morning, clean the dorm room, do their chores in the room (such as sweeping and mopping the floor), and then send them off to the kitchen/dining room/living room where they have morning devotions and breakfast. The person that usually sleeps in Los Chiquitos's room went on vacation this past week, so Kris - who is from Canada and has been here for many years - moved from Los Medianos to cover Los Chiquitos. With Kris in with Los Chiquitos this week, I took over his spot in Los Medianos for the week and will be in with the medianos next week as well (Kris is going back to Canada for his wedding, so he'll be taking some time off). I have my own little room and bathroom off the main dormitory of the boys' room. All three of the dormitories are set up like that so the adult sleeping there has their own little place within the larger room.
Each day, there are three guardias (caretakers) that watch the boys. The staff rotate responsibility, and I have already done guardia duty a few times now. With it being school vacation, the guardias for the day are technically off-duty at 9:00 pm when they send the boys to their dorms and the adult of that dorm is then in charge of that group. Depending on the person in charge of the dorm, sometimes the boys can play for a little while, brush their teeth, and do whatever else they need to do to get ready for bed before lights are out. For the medianos, sometimes Kris would read them a story or play music as they fall asleep. Although the boys have morning devotions, church, and other times the staff here sow spiritual seeds into their lives, I also wanted to take advantage of some times I can also sow seeds into their lives. I downloaded some Bible stories in Spanish that I could play for the boys at nighttime before they go to bed, which so far, they seem to like.
Also, while at camp doing the devotionals with Los Grandes, I had mentioned to them that they should read God's Word daily which was a way to sow seeds to the spirit. I asked them if they had Bibles and most of them said no - they only had Bibles in school but not in their dorms. I asked them if they wanted a Bible, and one of them - who seemed very engaged during my devotionals answering the questions, helping fill in my blanks when I struggled with the Spanish vocabulary or grammar, and seemed to be familiar with the Bible - said that he would. Looking on Amazon.mx (That's Amazon, but for Mexico - where everything's priced in pesos, so that it looks super expensive but isn't necessarily. $1USD is about 20 pesos.), I found Bibles for only 25 pesos each (about $1.25 USD). I bought a few of them along with some other things. When my package from Amazon arrived, it was sitting outside my room in the medianos' dormitory. A few of the boys saw the package and asked what I got, so I showed them (Bibles, a few sharpies, a mouse for my computer, and shampoo). I forget if I asked or if one of the boys just said it, but one of the boys asked me for one of the Bibles and said he didn't have one other than the one in the school. I told him sure if he would take care of it (sometimes the boys don't take care of their things), and he said he would. I told him I'd give it to him later that night. There was once or twice later that he reminded me about it and asked if now was the time he could have it - which was nice to see his eagerness. The next morning I gave another one of the Bibles to his older brother who was the one at camp that had told me he would like a Bible.
Last night for a story, I told the medianos how I wanted to share with them the story of Samuel from 1 Samuel 3 when Samuel was a boy in the temple under the care of Eli and God had spoken to him at night. As Samuel was just a kid, knew about God, was under the care of someone else who would teach him about God, and did not live with his parents or see them very often, I thought this story had many similarities to the boys' lives at Pan de Vida. I emphasized the importance of having a personal relationship with God and having God speak with them personally through His Word and prayer. I encouraged them to read God's Word for themselves and pray to Him and not just rely on the morning devotional lessons they get each morning and the fact that they attend church each week - that's not the same as a personal relationship with God.
Overall, it has been going well here, and I've been enjoying my time and have been forming better relationships with the boys and staff. I've been continuing to master the Spanish language, though I still have a ways to go; I'm thankful, though, for how much I do know of the language and that I can at least communicate in Spanish - even if my grammar and pronunciation aren't always great. I am enjoying it here and am looking forward to be used more by God to continue to sow seeds into these boys' lives.
Galatians 6:9: And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
For anyone who may be wanting to know how they can pray for me and the kids here in Pan de Vida, here are some prayer requests. Thank you for those who have been praying for me and the kids and staff here and have been participating in that spiritual sowing into these kids' lives through your prayers.
Prayer Requests:
- That the boys would have a personal relationship with Jesus and grow in Him and would be interested in reading His Word daily.
- That if any of the boys (or girls) here have not accepted Jesus into their hearts as their personal Savior and sacrifice for their sin, that they would understand what that means and would ask Him into their hearts and then start that personal relationship with Him.
- That I would take advantage of the opportunities God gives me to speak into these boys' lives and be a light for God so that they see Jesus in me.
Derek
Hey, maybe the boys would like to hear "Adventures in Odyssey" by Focus On The Family before they go to sleep, like you used to when you were their age?? Of course, only in Spanish and not English. Just thought they might like that! Keep up the good work...Stay focused on Jesus!! Love ya!
ReplyDeleteI did think of that.
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