“The little children were brought to Jesus for him to

place his hands on them and pray for them.” Jesus

said, “Let the little children come to me and do not

hinder them for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such

as these.” (Matt. 19:13-14) It was a day to remember….

As I walked through the “community” I witnessed Miguel

sitting in a chair near the bakery surrounded by children.

He would place his hands on their faces, kiss their

heads, and hug them – calling each by name. I felt as

though I was in the presence of Jesus. I watched him

hold babies, embrace children, run to them when they

were hurt, and smile because “his kids” were happy and

experiencing love in its purest form. “Children are a

gift from the Lord; they are a reward from Him. (Psalm

127:3) I am having difficulty finding words to tell you

how amazing the “community” is and how happy the

children are there. Many of their prayer requests are

for the children on the streets who do not have food

or homes. They are thankful for Miguel and the love he

provides for them. They say they are blessed with food

every day and a good home. They pray for us and thank

us over and over for coming and spending time with them.

When we arrived at the “community” on Sunday

morning, almost 800 children greeted us with smiles,

hugs, and kisses – little 3 year olds all the way up to

18 year old boys. It was an overwhelming and precious

moment. Many children remembered those on our team

who had been before – squeals of excitement were heard

throughout the chapel! Children immediately climbed in

our laps even though they did not know us, as if they had

been waiting for us to arrive (even though Miguel doesn’t

tell them when we are coming). We sat captured by the

words of Miguel as he told us his story – how God called

him to the “community”. We were all emotional as he

told us about the death of his son and about the anger

he had toward God. Miguel has such a presence there

and is respected and loved by all. The children would do

anything for Miguel.

Later, Miguel took us on a tour of the “community”

– showing us the bakery, the new pre-school and

welding shop (which will be finished in a week or two),

the cafeteria, the school, the Casas, and the baby

house. As we walked in the baby house, babies 15 days

old up to toddlers were there eating, sleeping and

playing. When we walked in many reached up asking

us to hold them. Their smiles warmed our hearts!

Throughout the week we sang, prayed, played, and

just held and loved on children. This trip we were

fortunate enough to have 73 members on our team. We

were able to divide the children into small groups of

about 8-12 to establish and build relationships. Our

group studied Women of the Bible, sang songs in English

and Spanish, made crafts, and had “buddy” time. It was

during the buddy time that relationships were fostered.

I taught my girls to say “I am your friend” in English –

they were so proud of themselves! I could tell that they

had learned some phrases in English over the years

because they would write on their papers “I love you

forever” and “Never forget me”.

The last day at the “community” was the most

difficult. That morning, my girls began asking if I had to

go back to America and if I would come again next year.

Many of them would look me in the eyes and ask me to

promise that I would come to see them again next year.

How could I say anything but “yes”! As the time came for

our group to go, we began saying our good-byes to the

kids. My girls and I wrapped our arms around each other

– such an emotional moment. It just ripped my heart out.

I quickly realized how hard this was going to be for me

even though I had been warned about it all week.

Because of the language barrier, I would have to call a

translator over to help me tell the girls how much I loved

them and would miss them. I told them I would pray for

them! They would then tell the translator to tell me that

they would remember me forever and beg me to never

forget them.

As I walked toward the bus, my girls would follow

me, begging with their eyes for one more hug. Each

step was a little harder to take knowing they were right

behind me. I would feel their hands touch my hand or

tugs at my sleeve.

It was then that I realized these girls - some

abused, most abandon, all just wanting to be loved - were

afraid of being left alone and forgotten. I am forever

changed by the unconditional love and innocent hearts of

these children!

I will remember them!

Melissa Warner