This is a picture of the sum total of a 9 year old boy’s
personal belongings. (Not including some stuffed animals on his bed.) What do
you see? Are you shocked at how little he has? This is what he sees… Order.  Our kids come from chaos, often violence, unpredictability
(will I be able to eat today?) and lack of care.  He happily and expertly folds his clothes and
carefully puts them away in his own space. 
His own space! Abundance. 
He has more than 1 shirt, pair of pants, socks, shoes, etc.  They are all clean and they fit. When he
outgrows his clothes or when the season changes, he gets more clothes and
shoes. There are several loving people who make sure he is clothed and fed. The
kids are young when they arrive and don’t realize they will begin to so
something they have never done before and, likely, have been told is beyond
their reach.  They will begin to dream
about a future.

During the pandemic we welcomed 13 new children.  New children always arrive malnourished, bewildered,
often in shock.  Melisa has serious health issues, some children were extremely neglected, some abandoned, some came from loving homes but so impoverished the parents couldn’t care for them. Suddenly Social Services
whisked them away from where they were and delivered them to us.  New kids have no idea what to expect.  We, including the all the “already-here” children,
know exactly what to expect.  We expect
to love them and include them as members of our family.  The children patiently guide the new ones
through the schedules and routines.  They
remind them not to use bad words.  They
share all their things with them. Recently, our newest boy, exclaimed when yet
another meal was put in front of him.  “Food again!”  It doesn’t take long for the new
children to figure out they are in a good place, free from violence, full of
love, with plenty of food.  They learn a new meaning for “family.” As Alex, who has been with us since he was 14 months old said,

“I am thankful to God because here we have a large family. (Alex is an orphan.) We have grandparents, aunts (caretakers) and the supervisors. The grandparents love us, the aunts are like mothers and the supervisors are like fathers. It doesn’t matter that they aren’t parents by blood, they are our parents through the Holy Spirit.”

Most important of all, this is where they meet Jesus.  The truth is, it takes awhile for them to know Jesus.  That’s ok. We do our devotionals, attend church, sing
praise songs, pray together, and wait for the Holy Spirit to do His work.

Sisters – Mabell and Melisa

Sisters – Suyapa and Enma

Monserrat (Monse)

 

Valentina

Siblings – Sofie and Darwin

Lucas

Siblings – Luis, Maritza, and Brayan

Damian, who is Alejandro’s brother

I have been teaching some of the older kids English.  I asked 2 of the girls to write 15 sentences
while I made a quick trip to the US. To my surprise, they both wrote about
their dreams.  Naturally, the first sentence
for each of them was, “When I am an adult, I will be a trillionaire!” M. wrote,
“When I am an adult, I will have the best restaurant in the world.” C. wants to
be a missionary and to be a role model for others.  She wrote, “The best moment of my life was
finding Jesus,”  and “I thank God for
giving meaning to my life.”

What we do here isn’t easy. 
Some days I wonder how the staff puts one foot in front of the other.
Sometimes the kids have melt downs or go through very difficult phases.  C. and M. both did. We all hang in there and
hang on to Jesus as

Julio, architect, our first university graduate

one day we celebrate a university graduation, or another day a mute
child beginning to speak, or when a troubled child is smiling and opening her arms for
a hug. 

There is such joy in being a part of these
transformations.  It often feels like a
miracle.  Would you like to be a part of
that?  There are so many ways.  One way is by prayer: we believe strongly in the power of prayer. Another way is through sponsorship: many people enjoy special relationships with a child they sponsor and giving
financially keeps food on our tables. 
Finally, and most fun for the kids, another way to help is visiting!  The staff received their first vaccination
today (thanks be to God) and will be fully vaccinated by early fall. We are delighted
to begin receiving teams in September.  We
long to share LAMB joy and hope with you! www.lambinstitute.org/give