Prayer for the Children we Serve

Dear Lord,

We come to you today to offer up the children that we serve. We place them in your hands Father and we ask you to care for them. Please comfort them and provide the healing that they need to help them recover from the traumas that these innocent young children have had to endure: for those who have suffered from hunger, thirst, and the pains of malnutrition, for those who have had to live without adequate housing, lack of clothing, and no shoes, for those who have had to suffer through the experiences of abuse, neglect, abandonment or the death of one or both parents.

Please ensure that their basic needs are met so they are able to continue to develop physically, mentally, and emotionally. Show them your mercy and invite them into your arms. Provide for them a parental relationship where they can talk to you and trust in you. Fill them with your love and grant them peace and security. Give them hope for a bright future and bless them with the opportunities of education and guidance to lead them towards that future.

We ask you Lord to please care for these and all the children of the world. Bless them and those who have the responsibilities of caring for them. Protect their vulnerable and innocent lives and allow for them to experience the joy and carefree happiness of childhood.

We place their lives in your hands Lord, in the name of your son Jesus Christ.

Amen

Winter Update

Now that we are already into Spring, I feel like I should fill you in on what we have been up to for the past couple months. As you can imagine, the Christmas season is always a busy time. In the Angels of Hope program we provide funding for Christmas presents and we host Christmas celebrations in all of the orphanages. It is a busy time for them as well, as many of the orphanages participate Nativity presentations, choral recitals, and other exciting holidays activities.

In December I had the opportunity to travel to El Salvador and attend some of these Christmas celebrations. Among other items on my itinerary one of the purposes of the trip was to visit and meet a new orphanage that was recently accepted into the AOH program. It was a wonderful visit. It is an orphanage that houses and cares for adolescent boys. The boys were dressed up with their hair standing on end with great amounts of hair gel. It was obvious that they were preparing and excited for the visit as they all stood out in the entrance of the home awaiting our arrival. They had made signs Welcoming our visit and attached decorations and balloons to the walls.

I was able to meet the home administrators and tour the facility. Located on the top of a mountain in rural El Salvador this home was truly incredible. They maintain a farm complete with chickens, goats, cows and pigs as well as large plots of agriculture all maintained by the staff and boys of the home. The boys are divided into groups that are responsible for different areas of the farm. They proudly toured me around and explained which sections they were in charge of. It was clear that these responsibilities gave the boys a sense of accomplishment and pride.

We shared a special Christmas lunch along with fresh fruit and dessert. The boys enjoyed breaking piñatas and participating in drawings for some highly desired prizes (more hair gel!).

One of the teenage boys approached me and thanked me for the celebration. He said that this was the first time that anyone had come to throw them a party. I assured him that now, as a part of the Angels of Hope program, this will not be the last party that is hosted at their home. My schedule when traveling on an AOH trip is very full. We had originally only alotted two hours to attend lunch and a portion of the party at the home. It was a long drive back to the city and we had other stops that we needed to make. BUT... the boys were so much fun and so entertaining that we stayed long past our two hour time limit.

It is truly a blessing for us to be able to work with these great orphanages and these beautiful children. It is amazing how the support provided by the program can change the face of an orphanage and provided the much needed assistance to make their daily life a little bit better. This home had submitted a project request for a Tilapia Farm to be created on their premisis. I am happy to say that we recently sent down the first disbursement of funds to make this dream a reality. With the help of our partner organizations and ICDF aguaculture experts from Tiawan, we will be constructing a small tilapia farm at the orphanage that will cultivate highly nutritious fish for consumption at the home. Imagine the pride of the boys who will be trained and taught how to manage and sustain a tilapia farm project. I can't wait!

Nica 06/08

In June I had the wonderful opportunity to accompany another one of our sponsors on a trip to visit her sponsored children. All four of the sponsored children are from Nicaragua and we planned a four day trip to meet them all. It was an incredible experience for our AOH sponsor and for all of the children as well. We were able to visit each child in their orphanage as well as attend the second Day of Celebration event in Nicaragua where two of the children were present. It was truly a special day for everyone.

This Day of Celebration event was incredible. It was bright, loud, energetic, competitive, cultural, athletic, delicious, and entertaining. I took a break and faced off against a group of the teens in some 5 on 5 basketball. My team won, but it cost me a lot of blood, sweat and tears (literally, a cut on my foot, sweat, and tears from a smaller child that was accidentally knocked over in the heat of the game).

It was truly a Day of Celebration. I particularly liked observing the orphanage staff members at the event. It is a day of entertainment and pride for them as well.

While visiting the children at their homes we had the opportunity to go to the island of Ometepe. We had to take a ferry ride across the lake to the island to meet the home administrator who drove us the rest of the way to the orphanage. It was a beautiful, tropical island covered with lush vegetation. The island itself is comprised of two large volcanos. The home was prepared for our visit and presented us with a dance show and some hand-crafted gifts. Our AOH sponsor even ventured for a quick horseback ride with one of the children before we continued on our way.