Tell Me Who I Am to You. . .

I have often been at a loss to explain to others why being at Hermano Pedro is so important to me.  Why I long for more Christian volunteers to come in and work with our kids on a short or long term basis.

Then, today, as I was praying about this, God brought to mind the song by Jason Grey, "Remind Me Of Who I Am."  And I realized that's it.  That's my ministry at Hermano Pedro.  In the midst of fine motor exercises and communication programs, my real purpose in the orphanage is to remind the children who they are.  They are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image and likeness of the God who loves them and willed them into existence.

It's just that simple.  And just that hard.

It's easy with Miguel.  He is bright, alert, responsive and intelligent.  He loves Bible stories and to hear about Jesus.  He thrives with attention, and understands being loved.

It's a bit more challenging with Fonzi.  Fonzi understands everything, but communicates only through crude gestures.  He is frustrated most of the time, angry and even aggressive some of the time.  He needs to know what it means to be loved.  He needs to experience human love and acceptance, but even more, he needs to come to know the Father who loves him just as he is.

Then there's Fidel.  Oh, intelligent, capable, creative Fidel, locked inside a body that prevents him from completing even the most basic of self-care activities.  Fidel, who drives a power chair and operates a computer with his left foot, but cannot feed himself.  Why, he wants to know, would a loving God make him live this way?  Fidel, who struggles to accept the fact that the God who created his severely limited body is the same God who loves him and has a purpose for his life.

Finally, there are those children like David, who only recently went home to live with Jesus.  David was seldom responsive, and I never really knew what, if anything, he understood when I would talk to him.  I knew, though, that Jesus loved David, and desired David to know Him at whatever level he could.  I believed Jesus was talking about our Davids when He commanded us to let the little children come to Him.  So I would tell David, over and over, about the Father who created him out of love, the Savior who came to redeem him, and the Holy Spirit who hovered over his bed.  Sometimes some of the nurses would look at me like I was a bit off, talking about these things with a child who obviously didn't understand.  I believe, though, that I was to minister to David's spirit as well as his mind and body, and I believe his spirit did understand.  I believe he could pray with me at least in his heart if not in his head.  So we would pray together, always asking Jesus to come to be with David in a special way.

So I guess that's it.  My real job at Hermano Pedro is to teach the kids who they are to the Father who created them out of love.  To remind them how precious they are to Jesus, that He would come to earth so that they could go to heaven.  And to encourage them that the Holy Spirit is with them, and will one day take them home.

It's as simple as that!  And it's glorious!