A Casual Sunday

Today for the first time in over a year, we did not attend church as a family.  We've been busy with packing to move this week, worn out from the intense heat and humidity and well, we were just plain tired.  So, we had a very casual morning and everyone woke up when they wanted to.   Noel was the first to come into our room.  Every morning he spends time with the dogs.   This morning he could spend more time with them because he was not in a hurry to rush off to school or in this case, to church.

Sunday mornings, breakfast is cereal; it's fast and easy.  Today was no different, except that each boy could eat whenever he awoke.  Nicaraguenses are not prone to sleep late.  I think I heard all of them awake by 8:00.   

As for Preston and myself, we had been up for hours sitting in bed reading.  Preston was typing fast on his computer as God was downloading to him some "good stuff" with regards to his  morning's bible reading.

After breakfast, Freddy came into our room with his Bible and journal.   He likes to be close to us.  Out of all the boys, he is the one who hangs around us the most.

I decided to look around the house to see what the other boys were up to.  They were sitting in a bedroom.  Israel was laying on his bed listening to "Hosanna" from his cell with his Bible in his lap.  Pablo was reading from his Bible and also Noel.

The fact that we did not have to remind the boys about using the morning for some quiet time of reading and reflection says a lot about the boys desire to learn more about God through His Word or their respect to adhere to the daily schedule that we have established for the boys.  Whatever the reason, I count it as a miracle either way; progress is showing in many areas of their lives.

After about hour, we all met in our room for a few minutes of discussion about "controlling our thoughts and renewing our minds".   We also talked about not allowing their own thoughts to condemn them for not being in church today, or the words of other people.    We've seen firsthand "well-meaning" people try to make another person feel guilty for not attending church on a given Sunday.  There is a lot of bad teachings that have taken place in the churches that causes many, many people to live under condemnation.  This condemnation usually results in a person to stop attending church altogether.  

Since the boys are back in school, we have not had a morning together that was casual and laid back.   We have missed our morning time of devotion and prayer.   We still meet with Pablo and Freddy in the mornings, but I miss the whole gathering of all of us.  This morning was very special and I'm sure that it pleased the Lord.

Repentance and Confession

The last month has been especially difficult in our home and in our ministry.  Actually, I guess we could say that the home and ministry are one and the same.  Right now, God has us ministering to young men in our home.  We have encountered battles on every front; in our finances, in our living conditions and most destructive - in the behavior of the boys.  

Recently, I (Sandra) have been asking God a lot as to why He called us to this ministry and to this country.  I never received the answers to the questions I had been asking.  And just when the pressure, disappointment and pain were getting to be too much to bear, God gave His answer in the most unexpected way.  He spoke through one of our boys.

We have known all the boys who live with us prior to their residency in our home.  They were former students in our vocational school.  We did not solicit them to leave the institution where they once had lived.  Each one had personal reasons for leaving the facility and finding their way to our doorstep.  The fact that we did not turn any one of them away has created division in our relationship with the institution.  

The boys are not addicts, they are either abandoned, rejected or orphaned youth.  Some of them have lived on the streets for a time.  Some of them have suffered extreme physical and sexual abuse at a very young age.  Some of them have behavior that is learned only by living on the streets.   They know how to manipulate and lie to get what they need or want, that is essential to the survival of a street kid.

We did not come here prepared to raise these boys.  We came here to teach vocational skills to young men of this nation who otherwise would not have the opportunity to learn a trade in order to become self-sufficient.  We are not psychologists or social workers.  We are two people who have a supernatural love for boys that society has neglected or forgotten.   We came here to start a school, God brought us here to parent this "forgotten generation".

After supper each night, the boys take turns preparing for a devotional teaching.  Each boy is assigned a night.  Tonight, was different however.   The boy whose turn it was to deliver the teaching said he was not going to teach from the bible because  "He had something to say".  

He started by saying that he had been thinking a lot about his behavior.  He talked about the thoughts that come into his mind and how they prompt him to do bad things.  He said he did not want to lie or deceive us any more.  He wanted to change, he wanted the strength to change.  And he wanted to be forgiven.

Yes, God answered my questions and my prayers tonight.  Through the confession of a child and his deep repentance, God told me what I needed to hear.   We are being used to make a difference, the boys are listening to us, our efforts and our words are not in vain.   I cried through the entire confession and I know that none of the boys had a clue as to why.   They have no idea how low my spirit had been sinking in these last few days.  They have no idea that God threw me a "lifeline" through one of them.  

I went to the dinner table with misty eyes from earlier tears and left with tears of relief and gladness.  I went to my "son" after his confession, hugged him and told him how much I loved him.  I received the same words back.   I thank God for his love and faithfulness to work all things for good.