As the day approached for the team to go to a boys´home in Ancon, I was anxious to see a little boy that touched my heart during last year´s trip. You see, last year, when we were done with the games, crafts, and christmas gift giving, Marcos gave me a really tight hug and held his clenched hand up towards me. As he opened his hand, I noticed his beautiful smile. In his hand, was a necklace made out of blue colored stones. He motioned for me to put it on but I hesitated. I told him that I could not take it and his smile disappeared. He continued by saying that he wanted me to take the necklace so that I would not forget him. I quickly hugged him and said that I would be honored to take it but that even, without the necklace, I would not forget him. For the rest of our stay at this home, he held my hand and would motion to his friends that I was wearing his necklace. Marcos is one of the many children that I have been praying for during the year. I, even, have his picture by my computer back home.
When we arrived at Ancon, I looked around for Marcos but found out that he was one of the many boys that was transferred to another home which we would not be visiting. My heart fell but I prayed that God would continue to take care of him and that he would be able to go back home, some day. Today, while visiting another home, I came across one of the boys that used to live at Ancon with Marcos. Immediately, I spoke with the director about Marcos and asked if he was living there. She said that he didn´t. A few minutes later, she came up to me with a smile and said that she had called the other home where Marcos had moved to and was informed that he had gone home to live with his mother. My heart was filled with joy knowing that he was with family, again!! As I played and talked to the other children, I prayed that they would have the same outcome as my little Marcos.
These children are children just like the children back home...they laugh, cry, joke around, and, most importantly, need love. Please, continue to pray for the children of Peru.
Sandra Martinez
Buckner Mission Trip Leader
09 December 2009
08 December 2009
Kitale, Kenya : The Last Day Devotional
By Shaniqua Rischer
Christmas in Kenya, December 8
Scripture:Matthew 28:18-20; Philipians 4:5,8-9
When I first thought about this trip, I wondered -as I am sure we all did- what God had in store for us. More than a few mentioned they were proud of us for going and that it takes a special heart to be a missionary. At the time, I didn't understand, but there IS something about the work of a missionary that is different. A missionary fulfills the great commission to the utmost; it is a personal sacrifice, you truly are going into the unknown and acting as a ambassador for Christ. And as we all know, it requires flexibility and being lead by the Holy Spirit on what to do next.
Christ told us to be missionaries to ALL nations, not just our neighbours. Which is what the 16 of us were specifically called to do here in Kenya. There is a reason we each are here;to let our gentleness be known to all men so they may know the hand of the Lord.
And because of our submission to God, we have been blessed. We have seen true joy and community in the midst of poverty. We have been greeted with unconditional love through the hand clasp of Daisy, in the exuberance of Randall and in the eyes of Elizabeth,Moses,and each child at the CDC. And as we fulfill the great commission, we are charged by Christ with another task; to meditate on what we've seen, the joy we have experienced and to take that back with us and report to others and make a greater difference. We are not only emissaries of Christ for the children, we are battlefield reporters for family, friends, and even strangers. The lessons we learned here are meant to be carried home.
Lastly, as we leave the kids today and recognize we may never know their individual futures....know that they are not alone. When the Americans are gone or even when Pastor Peter or Rose is not there, the seed of Christ has been planted, watered, and nurtured to grow. It is He who will be with them always, just as He is with each of us.
Christmas in Kenya, December 8
Scripture:Matthew 28:18-20; Philipians 4:5,8-9
When I first thought about this trip, I wondered -as I am sure we all did- what God had in store for us. More than a few mentioned they were proud of us for going and that it takes a special heart to be a missionary. At the time, I didn't understand, but there IS something about the work of a missionary that is different. A missionary fulfills the great commission to the utmost; it is a personal sacrifice, you truly are going into the unknown and acting as a ambassador for Christ. And as we all know, it requires flexibility and being lead by the Holy Spirit on what to do next.
Christ told us to be missionaries to ALL nations, not just our neighbours. Which is what the 16 of us were specifically called to do here in Kenya. There is a reason we each are here;to let our gentleness be known to all men so they may know the hand of the Lord.
And because of our submission to God, we have been blessed. We have seen true joy and community in the midst of poverty. We have been greeted with unconditional love through the hand clasp of Daisy, in the exuberance of Randall and in the eyes of Elizabeth,Moses,and each child at the CDC. And as we fulfill the great commission, we are charged by Christ with another task; to meditate on what we've seen, the joy we have experienced and to take that back with us and report to others and make a greater difference. We are not only emissaries of Christ for the children, we are battlefield reporters for family, friends, and even strangers. The lessons we learned here are meant to be carried home.
Lastly, as we leave the kids today and recognize we may never know their individual futures....know that they are not alone. When the Americans are gone or even when Pastor Peter or Rose is not there, the seed of Christ has been planted, watered, and nurtured to grow. It is He who will be with them always, just as He is with each of us.
Kitale, Kenya : The Last Day Devotional
By Shaniqua Rischer
Christmas in Kenya, December 8
Scripture:Matthew 28:18-20; Philipians 4:5,8-9
When I first thought about this trip, I wondered -as I am sure we all did- what God had in store for us. More than a few mentioned they were proud of us for going and that it takes a special heart to be a missionary. At the time, I didn't understand, but there IS something about the work of a missionary that is different. A missionary fulfills the great commission to the utmost; it is a personal sacrifice, you truly are going into the unknown and acting as a ambassador for Christ. And as we all know, it requires flexibility and being lead by the Holy Spirit on what to do next.
Christ told us to be missionaries to ALL nations, not just our neighbours. Which is what the 16 of us were specifically called to do here in Kenya. There is a reason we each are here;to let our gentleness be known to all men so they may know the hand of the Lord.
And because of our submission to God, we have been blessed. We have seen true joy and community in the midst of poverty. We have been greeted with unconditional love through the hand clasp of Daisy, in the exuberance of Randall and in the eyes of Elizabeth,Moses,and each child at the CDC. And as we fulfill the great commission, we are charged by Christ with another task; to meditate on what we've seen, the joy we have experienced and to take that back with us and report to others and make a greater difference. We are not only emissaries of Christ for the children, we are battlefield reporters for family, friends, and even strangers. The lessons we learned here are meant to be carried home.
Lastly, as we leave the kids today and recognize we may never know their individual futures....know that they are not alone. When the Americans are gone or even when Pastor Peter or Rose is not there, the seed of Christ has been planted, watered, and nurtured to grow. It is He who will be with them always, just as He is with each of us.
Christmas in Kenya, December 8
Scripture:Matthew 28:18-20; Philipians 4:5,8-9
When I first thought about this trip, I wondered -as I am sure we all did- what God had in store for us. More than a few mentioned they were proud of us for going and that it takes a special heart to be a missionary. At the time, I didn't understand, but there IS something about the work of a missionary that is different. A missionary fulfills the great commission to the utmost; it is a personal sacrifice, you truly are going into the unknown and acting as a ambassador for Christ. And as we all know, it requires flexibility and being lead by the Holy Spirit on what to do next.
Christ told us to be missionaries to ALL nations, not just our neighbours. Which is what the 16 of us were specifically called to do here in Kenya. There is a reason we each are here;to let our gentleness be known to all men so they may know the hand of the Lord.
And because of our submission to God, we have been blessed. We have seen true joy and community in the midst of poverty. We have been greeted with unconditional love through the hand clasp of Daisy, in the exuberance of Randall and in the eyes of Elizabeth,Moses,and each child at the CDC. And as we fulfill the great commission, we are charged by Christ with another task; to meditate on what we've seen, the joy we have experienced and to take that back with us and report to others and make a greater difference. We are not only emissaries of Christ for the children, we are battlefield reporters for family, friends, and even strangers. The lessons we learned here are meant to be carried home.
Lastly, as we leave the kids today and recognize we may never know their individual futures....know that they are not alone. When the Americans are gone or even when Pastor Peter or Rose is not there, the seed of Christ has been planted, watered, and nurtured to grow. It is He who will be with them always, just as He is with each of us.
07 December 2009
Dear Suzy
Dear Suzy,
I've never met you, but you changed my Christmas this season, because you changed Christmas for the Little Girl with the Dimples.
Let me explain: Today our Shoes for Orphan Souls mission team to Peru put new shoes on about 40 teen mothers at Reyna de la Paz orphanage's Domi home for unwed moms and gave them Christmas presents prepared for them by volunteers back in the states.
I watched as one of the mothers, the Little Girl with the Dimples, opened her box of Christmas goodies -- small clothing items, bath accessories and other things girls love and Neanderthals like me can't appreciate. Instead of going for the gifts like so many children do, she went for the card, unfolding it and asking one of our interpreters, Sergio, to read its contents. Your photo from an earlier Peruvian mission trip fell out and she studied it carefully while Sergio read your words.
You shared about your life, your cat Sami, and how your friends at Custer Road Methodist Church in Dallas had packed up the box of gifts for her. You also shared something else that Sergio read with emphasis to her as he finished interpreting it: that "Jesus loves you and you are very special to him." The Little Girl with the Dimples, who already has faced some significant challenges as a young mother living at an orphanage, begged me to take her photo with your letter and picture. She got around to rifling through the gifts, but at that moment in her Christmas, she only cared about the letter that cared about her.
Thanks, Suzy, on behalf of the Little Girl with the Dimples. She asked that I pass along her gratitude and love back to you.
Sincerely,
Russ Dilday
Peru Christmas Shoes -- the First Two Days in Photos
The past three days have been frenzied, with our group from Florida, California, Texas, Louisiana, Washington and Indiana distributing shoes, doing crafts and placing news shoes collected through Buckner International's Shoes for Orphan Souls collection-- on the feet of orphans and economically vulnerable children in five locations. To share with you how it's gone, I'm attaching a bunch of photos. Enjoy!
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