A Day to Remember

A couple of weeks ago, in our Sunday morning church service, an important milestone was accomplished that I believe will have a profound impact on the future of Casa Hogar Douglas. It wasn't planned. In fact, I was thinking before the service started that morning that Satan was having his way more than God it seemed. Ever feel like that?

We didn't have a sermon prepared. After the time of worship, the song leader invited anyone to come forward and share a testimony. When we have done this in the past, it is usually only the adults that want to share anything. This Sunday, after a couple of adults shared what God was doing in their lives, a 6th grade boy came forward. This young boy has never wanted to open up about his feelings or openly share anything that was going on in his life before. The whole crowd was quiet as he shared the hurt and pain that he had been carrying for a long time. At times his emotions had him crying but he spoke very clearly and thoughtfully with all of us. This opened the door for others to follow. Many kids began to share what they were feeling in their hearts and asking God to fill up the void that they had in their lives. Many gave thanks for the children's home and the staff that showed them God's love.

At the close of the service we sang a closing chorus as usual. Another boy who had shared his pain, was on the front row and fell down to his knees with his hands lifted high as we sang "Blessed be the name of the Lord." His 6 year old sister came forward and began to hug him. By the close of chorus, the 2 of them were embracing each other on the floor and crying.

I believe God is not only blessing the kids of this children's home, but I believe that He is breaking down barriers as well. As many kids have experienced pain in their young lives, they have reacted by holding their feelings and emotions in. Or they have acted out in anger or frustration that has led to them being labeled a "troubled child" by others. This morning, that I thought at first would be a day without hope, turned out to be a milestone where hearts and minds were opened by the Holy Spirit. I would ask for continued prayer as God continues to work through His Spirit in breaking down walls that have been built out of anger and frustration in these kids' lives.

Using the Blessing we've received to bless others

Recently, the kids at Casa Hogar Douglas received a blessing of new mattresses for their beds. When the kids learned that another home we serve, Casa Hogar Bethany, had 24 kids that slept on thin foam mats, they wanted to share their old mattresses with them. So last Wednesday, we loaded up the mattresses and took some of the older kids to meet the kids at Bethany. We shared a sandwich lunch that we brought along with some other treats and the kids enjoyed the afternoon getting to know each other. It was a great time that was had by all and we are already planning more activities to do together with our new friends at Bethany. We invited them over to play soccer in our large soccer field and they invited us to come back next summer to swim in the river that flows through their property!