Alex and his new clothes

There’s a boy named Alex that’s been in our care for well over a year now. His parents abandoned him and his siblings years ago, and he has since been separated from his brothers and sisters as well. He came to us alone with only the clothes on his back and a photocopied picture of his little sister, who he worries and prays for regularly like a good big brother. We gave him a set of new clothes, and he acted as if we had given him gold.

Alex told us how he was given hardly anything at his last home and was even banned from eating if he didn’t behave. This place eventually kicked him out for bad behavior, but since he has been in our care, he is a completely different boy. When I pray for each one, Alex is one of the very few that always offers to pray for me. In fact, I don’t even have to pray for him. As I was saying goodbye to the boys before leaving for Thanksgiving this past week, Alex actually came to me to ask before I left if he could pray for a good trip. He’ll place his little hand on you and pray the most fervent prayer you ever heard.

My "son" Alex and me

I recently surveyed the kids and asked them the question, “How do you know that God loves you?” Alex’s reply touched me the most: “Because I’ve been given clothes and a new family.”

We often question whether or not God loves us based on what we believe we lack. However, I think Alex can teach us that you can be confident that God loves you by focusing on what you already have. I shared this story to my sister Sheri while in Dallas for Thanksgiving, and she was moved to buy Alex some new clothes. Before I left my family, several of them donated a whole lot of clothes for many of the kids. It’s something they really need and ask for regularly, even before toys etc. I was so excited to deliver this blessing to them.

The bag of clothes for the kids and some treats to celebrate my return

As I flew back, I started to really miss my family. We are very close, but I only get to spend time with them a few times a year now. Upon landing, I learned that the airport had lost my bag which had most of my clothes and several other necessities. My coat would have been especially useful as it began to snow of all things. However, having learned from Alex myself, I focused on what I did have: the bag full of clothes for the kids! What a blessing it was to see their smiling faces and excitement as they modeled their new clothes.

Later I got a call from the airport saying they had found my bag, and when I went to pick it up, they handed me a $50 voucher that I will use to see my family again soon. God, I just love how you love me!

Want to donate too? The kids always need clothes! In fact, they often ask for clothes before toys etc. I know the boys especially need jeans/pants.
Send in new or used clothes »
Ask me for sizes etc. »
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This update is dedicated to my mom Shirley, my sister Sheri, and my whole family. I am constantly amazed by you guys and what huge hearts you have. Not only do you support me, but you have taken these kids into your own hearts. Apart from my own life, you truly impact the lives of these kids with your immense love.

Karely was very surprised

A child’s birthday is a big deal. It’s like a holiday to celebrate just you. That one special day when everyone remembers you, your birth, and that you’re running out of fingers to hold up. For many lucky kids, this special day is lavishly celebrated each year thanks to very loving and able parents. For that first birthday, you may even take out a line of credit to create a small theme park in the backyard. Once you recover from that, the parties become lesser of a presentation each year, but without a doubt, childhood birthdays are the best of all until you’re old enough that people start celebrating the simple fact that you’re still alive.

Goofing around with "Tavo"

For kids like ours, birthdays are already of this matter. Their special day comes, and I believe they ask, “Does anyone notice I’m still alive?” Many of their parents are not there at all and if they are, they simply don’t have as many resources as other parents do to tell their children that their existence is indeed acknowledged. I’ll never forget the conversation I had with one of my closest boys Gustavo whose birthday came and went without me even knowing. He said no one remembered but his mom who gave him a hug and told him ”Happy Birthday.” “That’s a lot for me,” he said. Quite moved by this, I took him to the amazing VIP movie experience we have here in Juarez. However, I guess like all parents, I learned after that first time that I’ll need to be more resourceful.

A supporter allowed these three brothers to share a birthday celebration

As the parents of 100 children, it’s quite a task just to acknowledge their birthdays. There are multiple celebrations needed each week. The ministry once had a faithful volunteer that would bring cake each month to celebrate all the birthdays of the month at once. However, with this new program, I wanted the need of individual attention to be addressed. We do have many wonderful supporters that send gifts for certain children’s birthdays, but I recognized a need to acknowledge every birthday from the people who daily act as their parents. I know for me, some of these kids literally call me “dad,” and they ask me what I’m going to do for their coming birthday… good question!

Amanda with some of her new friends

It wasn’t long that my sister Amanda came down to visit me here for the first time. She was moved by many things, but one in particular was how the birthdays of the kids seem to come and go without much acknowledgement. We talked about some ideas that could realistically celebrate each and every child’s birthday, on their birthday. Even better, her and her husband began supporting me monthly, and soon after her visit, she had a birthday plan completely worked out. It was through this tremendous support that we started the new birthday program this November.

They all wanted to lick the candle!

It’s very simple what we do, but it has shown to satisfy the tremendous need these kids have on their special day. With a calendar of all of their birthdays, I have the privilege of creating each child’s little birthday cake made just for them. It’s simply a packaged cupcake dressed in chocolate syrup and whip cream topped with sprinkles and a candle, but the kids go wild over it! The birthday boy or girl definitely feels special, and the other kids gather around on their own to present the cake and sing the Spanish Happy Birthday song. We have already celebrated four birthdays in just the first two weeks. We have much hope that this inexpensive and easy program will satisfy all the kids, especially given their new persistence in making sure I know when their birthday is too.

So maybe kids don’t really need the small theme park afterall. We could save the money to take some extra time off work and give our kids the individual attention that they really want.

This update is dedicated to Michael and Amanda. I hope you realize what awesome things you are doing through your constant encouragement, monthly support, visits, and the love that you show moment by moment to your own two children. Thank you for sharing the blessings you have for your children to bless so many others.

Carlos and me

Money is not usually something missionaries or kids in a children’s home have to spare, but things work differently in the kingdom of God. Somehow, gifts from our Father, just go farther. Like the Bible says, He calls things that are not, as though they are. By all worldly definitions, we are very poor here. I don’t work for a paycheck and the kids certainly are not sent to us with allowances from their parents. And yet, let me show you how we are rich.

The other day I was driving into the home from school, and two of my boys, Carlos and Andrés, came running to me yelling, “Adán! Please help us!” I thought someone’s life might have been at stake, but no – just pizza! Their school, a local middle school that we send them to, was taking a trip to Peter Piper Pizza (we have them in Juarez!) the next day, but the parents were required to pay for their children’s food and games. Well, we are essentially the parents of these kids, and two of my sons were asking me for my help.  They didn’t even worry about being able to play the games. They just asked for $2 each so they could eat pizza with the rest of their class.

For a missionary/college student, $4 is a lot of money! But I wish you could have seen their faces. They explained how they had already asked everyone else, and no one was able to donate anything to their little cause. Considering them as my sons, I did what any other good father would do - I opened my wallet to see what I had. This is where you can see the economy of God.

Andrés and me

Now, I don’t even pray for my needs nor my finances. It’s something that God promises us, and that’s like money in the bank. Sure enough, over these past several months, God has just poured in financial support from all over place, and I find myself having more than I truly need. Leftovers. Because my supporters have been blessed with more than enough, they have blessed me with more than enough, and I was able to give these two boys $10 so they could eat and play plenty of games with their classmates.

They were shocked and replied, “This is way more than we ever imagined!” That’s just like our God. It was a perfect opportunity to teach them that I too was surprised when I looked in my wallet, but that we as sons of God always have everything we need and more. We are not orphans! But this waterfall of blessing didn’t stop there!

The next day, I asked the boys how the trip went. No doubt they had a great time eating pizza and playing games. However, what they were most excited about was the fact that they helped some of their classmates. These are kids that actually live at home with their parents, and they were sent to school with no money to participate in the outing. Our two boys, boys from a children’s home, were sent with so much more than they needed, that they shared it with these other kids so that everyone could eat pizza and have fun. This is the kingdom of God.

Adrian and Ever eating authentic Indian

We see it all the time here, in both times of plenty and little. Last week was my first time to host the weekly staff meeting at my place. It’s expensive to feed 10 or more people, and they were worried if it would be too much of a strain for me. What a blessing it was to be able to tell them not to worry, that I would be honored to finally treat them all for a change, that new support money had just come in and that it wouldn’t be a problem at all. In fact, I had so much leftover from this dinner too that I was able to invite eight of the boys over the next day for maybe the nicest dinner they’ve ever eaten. And there were still leftovers! The boys brought it into the home where the caregivers were happy to finish it.

However, God’s loving provision is seen in times of very little as well. For instance, during the recent season where I hardly had a peso to my name. I was saddened because I hadn’t been able to tithe anything at church, but one Sunday I somehow had 50 pesos (less than $5) in my wallet. It was such a joy to finally have something to give, that I gave it all. Not an hour went by after church when I was walking in a little corner store, and there on the floor was 50 pesos. No one claimed it - another miracle in such a impoverished city. God just wanted to show me that as I give to Him, that He is even more able to give right back to me.

There are so many other examples! Like later around that same time, when I needed $5 to pay for a shirt that all the teachers in our elementary school needed. I didn’t have a penny on me, but I already knew I could tell them with confidence, ”Sure I can pay for it.” The next day I went to my college, walked into the computer lab, and there, under the chair I just happened to choose, was a $5 bill.

Let me tell you just one more! Once I had to go to downtown El Paso to pay for a parking ticket, and I didn’t even have a quarter to park at the meters. I prayed, and the only meter that was unoccupied still had an hour on it! I parked, had my ticket dismissed, and left with additional time still on the meter for someone else. Leftovers!

What happened when Jesus was invited to that party and they ran out of wine? He turned basically bath water into more, it was even better wine than what they had, and the Bible says it equalled up to 180 gallons! What happened when all those people were following Jesus and they got hungry? He took a couple of fish and some bread that this one kid had, fed all something-thousand of them until they were full, and there were more leftovers than when they had started! As we invite Jesus into our lives, as we follow Him, that is how He blesses us – in abundance.

Our Father uses gold for pavement! Surely He has way better things for you, His child. And no doubt, you will have leftovers to bless others.

This update is dedicated to Derrell and Ginger. I will always remember the day I no longer had a car to get myself to school, and that same day you guys called me up and told me your truck was mine to use. You guys were so content in the blessings you had, you chose to bless me from your abundance. You could have sold it, kept it for emergencies, made use of a dependable truck somehow, but instead, I cannot put into words what a blessing this has been to me and these kids.

Performance from 2008-2009

Out of such ugly circumstances, our children have the opportunity to apply their talents and create something beautiful together through our dance program. They eagerly await each class and advance by leaps and bounds given the opportunity. I think it’s very healing for them as well. Some of our children have been through the most horrible of events already in their young lives, but then to see them perform with such skill, such confidence, such beauty, it truly inspires us all.

As we start a new year in the dance program, I have the privilege of teaching two of the many weekly classes, a Gymnastics class and a Creative Movement class just for the smallest boys. These little boys have truly inspired me this week. They are often the most difficult for us to care for because not only are they the youngest with the most needs, but they have every bit of the energy and adventurous spirit that comes with being a boy. When you get about 20 of them together, even the most simplest of tasks can be quite a challenge. Consider the task of lining up.

As my first class with these boys began, it was obvious right away what an issue we were going to have in lining up. In order to do the various activities, they would have to line up quickly for each one. However, they would scream all the way to the line, start fist fights and pushing wars for first place, and as others would run all over the room, others would just refuse to get up at all. Having experienced the power of God and the potential that He has put in these children, I knew there was still hope for this class. Others had already given up on them, but here at Emmanuel Ministries is where that stops. I simply adjusted my expectations for the day and met the kids at the level they were at: lining up.

For the rest of the class, that’s all we did – practice lining up. I challenged them by explaining the importance, stating the rules, and timing them each time. The first several times were no different, just as chaotic, and I won’t lie that it didn’t challenge the hope I had. We still had some class time left, so I just kept going, stating specifically what went right and what went wrong each time… “These three lined up perfectly. Good job! But I saw some pushing back there so we need to do it again.”

As they realized we were going to do it until they did it well, I think they realized it was actually expected that they could do it well. I can’t tell you exactly what triggered what, but all of a sudden, they just did it perfectly. It shocked me. Not a word spoken, no pushing, no fighting for places – just this perfectly straight line before me of the most beautiful smiling little boys, probably shocked themselves. Just to be sure this was actually happening, we did it a few more times including once for the head of the dance program. We shocked her too.

There is hope. A friend once told me, “Don’t despise small beginnings.” That has never been more powerful than it is here with these kids. We may have to start small, very small, but what amazing things result when we don’t ignore what God can do with the smallest beginning.

This update is dedicated to Michael and Sheri. Thank you for your constant support and encouragement that is enabling miracles to take place here. Together, we are planting and watering seeds in these children that their own children will someday be thankful for many years to come.

Me with some of my 6th grade students

Here at the ministry’s school Isaac Newton Academy where I teach Computing to the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades, we have had a very successful first week. How exciting it is to see the students in their new grades, and what a privilege it is to be able to introduce computers to a new group. Many of them reported that yesterday was the first time they used a computer or the internet, and for the vast majority of them, this one hour class once a week is the only time they have to use computers at all.

4th grade exploring inside of computer

In 4th grade, we explored the insides of a computer and played online activities to begin learning the basic parts. See how you do!.. (Matching Activity | Who Wants to be a Millionaire Game | Our 4th Grade Activity Website) 5th grade practiced using Microsoft Word by typing an original story or poem. They did so well that later we got to play some online games. In 6th grade, we practiced online research and began a project where we are dismantling a computer to rebuild it. We’ll see if it turns on again once we’re done! It’s possible we may just end up with some kind of modern art piece, but no doubt we’ll have fun learning about computers. Knowing how to work a computer can open so many doors for them!

This update is dedicated to Michael and Amanda. Thank you for your immense support and love that enables real changes to take place here. Together, we are helping to open doors for these kids to a brighter future.

This update is dedicated to Donavon and Natalie. Thank you for your strong support from the beginning and all your many prayers that are so evidently making things possible here. Together, we are showing the immense love God has for these precious kids.

From Begging to Giving

One such boy is Juan Manuel who would easily be labeled as just a troublemaker by the glancing eye. He would only ever ask for money or candy from me, and it was hard to do anything more than ask him to behave. However, once you understand the history of neglect, how he was once left several days alone to find his own food, you also understand that there is much more to this precious boy. One day God gave me the idea that every time Juan Manuel asked for something from me, to give him a hug instead. He would hold out his hand and say “Give me money!” and I would simply respond with “Sorry, but all I have is a hug.” I found what happened to be shocking – he asked me for money more than ever! However, it was because he knew he would receive a hug instead. More than money, this dear boy was starving for affection. Eventually, he began coming to me for a hug without the routine, and this led to a real relationship. I’ve noticed a huge improvement in his behavior, and when he does misbehave, we have this growing relationship in order to resolve the issue.

One night some weeks later, God really showed me how much He was working in Juan Manuel’s life. I wanted to start a tradition of reading a Bible story each night to the boys as they were preparing to sleep. I knew the kids had this great book that told each Bible story in easy Spanish that they could understand and that I could actually read. However, on this particular night that I wanted to start the tradition, I couldn’t find the book and was doubting if the boys would even pay attention. I hadn’t mentioned anything to them and was thinking of just forgetting about it. Just then is when Juan Manual chose once again to ask something of me with his hand held out. However, this time it was for a Bible story and in his hand was the very book I needed.

Fear Casted Out by Love

These little miracles are everywhere. Another example is in a boy that came from a physically abusive home. Every time I would lift my hand to give him a hug or bring my hand anywhere towards his face at all, he would flinch. Even though we were good friends for many months and he knew I was safe, this reaction had been so reinforced in his past that it was completely automatic anytime a hand approached him. How heart breaking it was that anytime I wanted to give this precious child a hug, that I would illicit this reaction of survival. Thanks be to God that He can heal such deep wounds and that His love casts out fear. It must have been the thousandth one, but just recently I went to give this boy a hug and there was no sign of that awful flinch – just his beautiful incessant smile.

A New Creation

Alex in Sept. 2008 and then in July 2009

There is another boy named Alex (Alejandro) that was brought to us after the prior home lost all hope in him. He was a very angry boy that liked to cause trouble and even cussed me out once after he was stopped from creating fires inside the home. However, once in the care of Emmanuel, little by little we watched this boy’s life change 180 degrees. It’s hard to imagine he is the same boy – I guess because he really isn’t! He is now a shining example to the other boys in the dormitory and a huge help to the caretakers. One night he prayed for a sore throat I had for several days and by the next morning it was gone. He prays every night for his little sister of whom he has but only one picture and no knowledge of her whereabouts. He believes the rest of his family is somewhere in the US. What strength this little boy has! He told me how the home he came from was really mean and refused to let him eat at times. He is now flourishing in his new family at Emmanuel and wants to be an architect when he’s older. As he continues to pray and God continues to do miracles in his life, I have no doubt he will go on to do even more than that.

The Once Rejected Dance and Sing

Similar to Alejandro, Cristian also was rejected from his previous care because they couldn’t control his behavior. I can’t imagine what it must be like to have a children’s home reject you after already being rejected by your family. However, God’s immense power and love is also evident in Cristian’s life. He still has a ton of energy, but he is now one of the most joyous children. He loves to dance and sing and often takes care of his duties before anyone else. He’s usually the first to be in bed on time and the first to wake up, make his bed, and begin showering while the others are just getting up. We’ve been learning how to apologize, forgive, share, and live more as brothers, and Cristian was one of the few that caught onto this from the beginning. I would be teaching a group of them about the importance of resolving conflicts, and there would be Cristian offering his hand to each one saying “Do you forgive me?” for no other reason but to show them an example. For awhile, Cristian and Alex had difficulty getting along. One night, Alex asked for prayer regarding their relationship, and as Cristian practiced apologizing and Alex prayed, they became better and better friends. With all the recent news coverage, they discovered Michael Jackson and have been enjoying trying to learn to dance like him.

To Become Like Little Children

While most of our kids are away with various family members during this time of vacation, it has been such a joy to be able to spend time with the boys like Cristian and Alex whose current family does not extend beyond Emmanuel. This past summer was very busy and there’s so much more to do, and yet everyday these kids teach me to relax and have fun among many other things. Just to watch them grow in the Lord encourages me to do the same. The other night they took turns praying for one another – that God would keep their little sisters safe, that their mothers would come back for them, and that they would get new families soon. Later they asked what they could pray for me, and as they placed their hands on me praying, I don’t know if I ever felt so humbled. All I can say is that these children are the strongest people I’ve ever met, and that as much as we are here to bless them, they bless us without even trying.

This update is dedicated to David and Shirley. Thank you for your constant support, prayers, and immense love that are helping to make all of these huge changes here. Together, we are tuly making a difference for generations to come.

As others fear pay cuts and job losses, here you would see our children happily sharing necessities and being content with very few luxuries.

As others prepare for more war and secure themselves in their homes, here you would have children run to attack you with hugs and kisses.

As others hide and run away due to fear of mass sickness, here you would have a child’s little hand placed on you and the most fervent prayer you ever heard.

As others succumb to this lingering temptation of depression, here you would be surrounded by smiling faces and hear laughter echoing throughout the halls.

I don’t think it’s because we know something that they don’t – it’s that they know something we don’t. Everyday, the children at Emmanuel Children’s Home teach me to persevere despite immense challenges, to focus on the joyous things around us, to take life one day at a time, and to always depend increasingly more on the One to whom all things are possible.

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