Remembering... Growth = Change

We celebrate growth at Siempre Para Los Ninos. It's more money to care for more children- but always for the children is our mission and name, so when a child is rescued into the safety of Siempre - we celebrate. That said, it's easy to forget that all growth equals change and change, even exciting, positive change, is not nearly as easy to celebrate as growth.

That's the group photo from Wednesday afternoon, October 26, 2011. It represents change on so many levels. Check out the cool, new work in the courtyard. Getting ready for a wet winter, we've been blessed with donations to put in drainage, build levels, put in an automatic sprinkler system and next Wednesday... new, beautiful sod will be set. The first lawn in the community. Pastor Ken's done an incredible job heading up the project, working with church teams and the Siempre community. This week Ken turned on the sprinklers, to the joy and amazement of everyone... little things we ignore are miracles in the making at Siempre.

Thank God for Washington! The state that is :-) Mackenzi Kingdon, all the way from Seattle, has finished her time at Siempre- teaching, sharing, loving siempre's kids... and we'll miss her. Until she returns. We all do. Alisha Schafer, who's served with Youth With A Mission for the last year in Mexico, has now moved in to the Mission's House @ Siempre and is teaching the children and serving alongside our workers. Alisha's from Bellingham, Washington, has her degree in Psychology and we look forward to getting to know her in the months to come. Please keep her in your prayers as she begins and continue to pray for Mackenzi as she transitions back into life in the states. God has blessed us with these young women with HUGE hearts for God. If you'd like to serve at Siempre... You're Invited!

Change is not always easy... one simple group photo; a new courtyard, incoming and outgoing missionaries to Siempre and on the right side of the picture- the unhappy looking teen, Antonio - after six years - left Siempre this week... tears and heartbreak... the conflict that so many teens face... but Antonio has a living mother- one not ready to take him back -but in his mind, his heart, mom. Pray for Tony, our Siempre family, for safety and healing through these difficult changes. I'm set to meet with him again in two weeks. Pray that he shows.

Growth = Change and change is not always easy. Family's not easy... but it's worth it. Miracles happen everyday at Siempre... some of the miracles are inspirational - as people give selflessly to help rescue abandoned children. Some of the miracles remind us of the power of family- a teenage boy, away from a mother who abandoned him as a child -still clinging, running away to, the hope of what might remain. Into this, God invites you and me to be light and salt, hope for the broken hearted. He's too good. Please keep Siempre in your prayers.