"Let the little children come unto me..."

About two weeks ago I got a call from a woman I had never meet. She got my number from the director of the children's home Lluvia Temprana downtown. She told me she worked with children and needed my help. I promised ONLY that I would go and visit first and then go from there. So, yesterday, Chris, Tony and I went to visit what I thought was another children's home. It's more of a ministry to feed "ninos del blvd" (street kids) breakfast in the morning and the Word in the evenings (she told me we could start teaching anytime we wanted to start!!!). The lady who runs it is named Maria. She started this minitry in her HOME 3 years ago and it has grown from a couple of kids to some times up to 50+. Monday through Saturday she opens her home doors to neighborhood kids and street kids (most of which are essentially "crack babies", born into drugs and have been thrown to the streets to survive off begging). She told me she is really tired, because though people will often help it all falls on her shoulders. The government gives her NO help and she does what she can off donations and wherever she can get food from. She told me that people will some times give her money or food to help the kids. She said that for $2 to $5 pesos (20 to 50 cents), the kids can buy "a hit" from some drug that "helps them deal with the hunger pains"! She is trying to teach them that for that same amount of money they can buy some bread or a taco and eat. It was a place not only forgotten by the many drug addict parents, it's a neighborhood and area forgotten by the town and the government! Please pray for these children and our (whatever it might be) future involvement in helping feed the kids.

click here if you want to see more pictures of the children.