Going Deep

This past week we were privileged to have a small medical group from Kansas serve with us. For those of you that don't know, we partner with a children's home here in Mazatlan that cares for kids with physical and mental disabilities. Over the last month we have come to know that the kid at Rancho de Los Ninos go to a therapy center everyday called Padres y Compadres to exercise and receive one on one time with a physical therapist. This past week we started to bring the group out to help with the kids. The center is amazing, but only has one therapist. But they do things like equi therepy (horses), senses therapy, water therapy, and mental therapy. They have this room called the senses room, where there are lights and smells, and sounds and things the kids can touch. It's all focused on teaching them to see and smell things, and hear and feel things. I have learned so much just in the last 5 days, and I have enjoyed not just spending time with the Rancho Kids, but the other kids at Padres as well.
I met a little boy named Alberto this week, and Alberto is about 5 years old. He cant walk, nor can he talk. He also has some kind of muscle disorder where he can't chew food or eat with out help. But despite all his disabilities, God gave Alberto something greater. His smile. On Monday I walked into Padres for the first time, and saw Alberto sitting by himself against the wall. I plopped myself down next to him, and he turned and looked up at me with a smile that melted my heart away. Such an amazing kid with a huge heart, and how does he express God's love... through his smile!
Serving the kids both at Rancho and Padres is very different than the other homes we serve with. The kids physical needs are extremely different but more so the social and emotional needs go way deeper than we can imagine. When I sat down next to Alberto, I thought "oh we might laugh a little and play with some blocks, but when he looked at me and smiled, I just wanted to scoop him up and love him. As I am learning to adjust to living full time in Mexico, God is continuing to humble me through the kids we serve. He is teaching me that the relationships we build with these kids must go deep within our hearts or else we loose them. Because when we truly go deep within ourselves we find Jesus. How can we expect to go deep with out the core root of who we are. Jesus Christ. God breathed into us and gave us his spirit, but he also gave us his son that we may have life within him. So that we may live and share that life with others.

There is a boy at Rancho named Chuy, and Chuy is about 15 years old. He cant walk or really move any muscle in his body. He sits either in his wheelchair all day or lays on the floor. But as helpless as Chuy looks, he is smarter than any of the kids we serve. You can sit there and talk with him about science and math, or what kinds of Tacos he likes. Green salsa not red!! He will tell you stories about the other kids, and crack jokes with you. He is 100% relational, and he thrives off of those conversations and the time you spend with him.
Chuy loves so many things, but he feels so helpless, trapped in a body that doesn't move. Trapped in a society that doesn't care about him. I am pretty sure he could win like a Nobel prize or something. But whose going to give him a chance?...Jesus will. Why has God called us here? ....To live like Jesus did. But more importantly, to Love as Jesus did. As a ministry, we want to go deep with each child we serve. We want to build deep relationships with in, and we want to show them deep Love that we care about them. From the needs of Alberto to Chuy, to Lupitha, to Helberto. God has a plan for each and everyone of them.

Lastly, I cant tell you how grateful I have been this week to be able to walk, and to talk. To be able to feed myself, and go to the bathroom when I need to go. To be able to get out of bed each morning and to be able to feel, and hear and touch things. Thank you God for the wondrous things you do, even when we don't see them.