My brother is big on Motivation. He loves finding things to motivate himself--it´s his personal motto, I think. So I want to share one of those motivating things with all of you, one of the moments that is burned into my memory and that motivates me in the many, many moments where I´m sure my strength will fail.
Meet Fernanda (pictured here with our Bella). Some of you will remember that we were praying for a mother of 6 who was fighting uterine cancer, who passed away this past August. Fernanda is one of her daughters. Her two older sisters (15 and 16 years old) each have a baby and are living on their own, which means that Fernanda is the oldest of the 4 that are left at home. Her father relies on her to keep track of the money and her younger siblings, while he works long hours and spends his evenings sometimes with his children, sometimes with his new girlfriend, and sometimes drinking. Fernanda is 12 years old.
When we did Share Christmas in Quito, Fernanda was there with her siblings, and from the moment she walked in I could tell something was wrong. Fernanda, despite all of the burden placed on her by her circumstances, is a generally happy girl, but she walked in looking completely heartbroken.
After Share Christmas was over, I called Fernanda over to me and took her aside, asking her what was wrong. She started to cry and told me that she missed her mother, and wished she could spend Christmas with her. I hugged her and comforted her as best as I could, knowing that there was really nothing that I could do to take away that pain in that moment. It broke my heart.
Fast forward to this past Saturday, our first Kid´s Club meeting. Fernanda and her siblings were there again. They all looked sad, but content enough to be with us. As the day unfolded, I watched the kids from my vantage point as director, (one of the perks of being director is you get to be a part of everything) and I noticed something. I watched Fernanda learning the praise dance we were teaching and I saw her smile. A real smile, born of real happiness. I saw her in her class, learning her memory verse, laughing with the other kids. For a little while, I saw Fernanda become a kid again. She wasn´t thinking about what she would cook for dinner, or how she would corral her siblings back home, or how she missed her mother terribly. She was just a happy, carefree kid.
There have been lots of magical moments like those in the past months. God is moving. His presence is healing the children we work with and our workers. He is opening doors, providing, and moving in our hearts. He is pushing us forward, giving us strength for the moment and somehow, in the midst of all the craziness, giving us rest. It´s hard to put into words for the people who aren´t here, experiencing it first-hand, and I wish I could bring you all here, and just let you soak it all in. And I hope you know that you are partners in our joy, those of you who lift us up in prayer and support our ministry, because without you, we would not be able to do what we do. Thank you is not strong enough to express the gratitude we feel for all you do, and even more, the gratitude in our hearts for God, for allowing us the privilege of serving Him.
Ashley Rodrick
Director, Revolution Infantil
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| Some of our kiddos playing outside during kids´ club |
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| Some of our kiddos playing outside during kids´ club |
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| The view from the park behind our building |
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| Some of our kiddos playing outside during kids´ club, with team members Jairo, Victor, Nancy and Jhonny |
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| Some of our kiddos playing outside during kids´ club |
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| Victor and Jhonny explaining the game |
