Children Loving Children



Oti



Before we moved to Mexico, while we were raising support, we were invited to speak at Whiteford Wesleyan Church in East Michigan.  The morning we spoke, Bernice Heidelberg, the Director of Growing Tree Preschool at Whiteford, approached me about having their pre-school children do a mission project, which would include learning more about our work with orphans, more about Mexico, and possibly raising some money to send to some of the children we work with. I told her we would love to be part of that and asked her to contact me after we moved down.

Fast-forward 2 months.....

The Old Tables

I received an email from Bernice and she told me that after speaking with the board of directors and staff of Growing Tree, and most importantly with the children, they were excited about this new partnership. She told me that the kids were excited to get to know Oti's family and raise money to help them. So we sent them pictures and information about each of the 8 kids.

Fast-forward 5 months.....

We were preparing to host a team who would do some work on Oti's house. During the previous 5 months, Bernice's kids were raising money to give to Oti. We didn't know how much or whthe plans we made for projects at Oti's house didn't include any money from the Whiteford children. BUT, on the day we were heading out with the team (just last week) I received word that the money had just come in and had been transferred down to our director; so it was available. I was excited but wasn't sure how or when we'd use it. As it turned out when we got to Oti's house two things we hadn't planned to do that day - because we didn't have the money - rose to the top of the project list.

 

The New Table

With the money from the Growing Tree pre-school kids, we were able to buy wood and build Oti a new and much needed table where she prepares meals for her family. Additionally, as we were getting ready to head home at the end of the workday, I was told that Oti had no groceries and that her kids hadn't eaten, and probably wouldn't eat that day. So I said, "Hey, I still have money left from the Whiteford kids, let's use that to buy groceries." So we sent out a few people to the local store and bought some necessities for Oti's family.

God's timing and God's people, reaching out to those in need, thousands of miles away. Kids in East Michigan helping kids in Southern Mexico. Now THAT is a cool story of how God uses children to love children. Thanks Whiteford  Wesleyan and Growing Tree Preschool!!

"And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'

GLORIA'S GENEROSITY...a great example of faith & trust

Recently I was so challenged by the generosity displayed by one of the widow's we work with in Tres Reyes.  Her name is Gloria.  She is such a hard worker and doing the best that she can to keep her family together.  She's been living in a cement block house (formerly a thatched palapa) with her 5 children and one year old grand-daughter.  The "windows" don't have glass (yet) and of the back entrance doesn't have a door.  Her kitchen is outside where she cooks over a wood fire on a make-shift fire pit using wood she splits herself.  Our project on this day was to even out the dirt floors so we could pour cement in the main room, bedroom, and bathroom of her home.

We arrived with our team of about 25 people. As we always do, we packed our own lunches before we left for Glorias. But when we got there we realized that Gloria was planning to make lunch for and feed EVERYONE!  I'll back up just a little bit and say that on our way to her house, we bought Gloria groceries; just the basic's....potatoes, boxed milk, rice, beans, tomatoes, corn tortillas, and a few other items. Because she doesn't have a fridge, we only bought Gloria a couple packs of meat, which she had to cook right away so it wouldn't spoil.  So when we got there the team unloaded all of the groceries and started to work... and so did Gloria. Some of us started leveling off the floor, some started mixing the cement by hand. And Gloria started to cook. I was able to help Gloria with the food. With the potatoes we bought her and some of her own, she made potato crouquettes stuffed with cheese. She used EVERYTHING she had to make this lunch for our team.  She also made homemade salsa, beans and rice.  She even used the tortilla's we brought for her family. Her generosity overwhelmed me to the point that I had to ask myself....am I that generous? Would I be willing to cook up most of my food for a group of people, some of whom I barely know? The other thing that spoke so loudly to me was Gloria's faith and trust that God would provide! What a great example Gloria was, challenging us to live life giving our all.