La Cara Feliz

Here is a glimpse of some of the smiling faces that greet me every morning. One of our recent chapels was taken from Proverbs 15:13, El corazon feliz, se refleja en la cara. El corazon triste, deprime el espiritu! It was a joy to share this insightful word with the children and to discuss how our expressions so often reveal so much about what is going on in our heart and spirits. These little ones had fun showing me their happy faces!

I am continually amazed that there are so many smiling faces as I learn of the difficulties that so many of these little ones have encountered. We like to put the memory verse on the bulletin board so the parents can be aware of what we are discussing and hopefully reinforce it at home. Our happy faces and happy hearts really are miracles from God.

I've shared with you about Juan and his brother Jose (Juan and Jose's story) , but we recently opened our hearts and class to another little one, Alexander. We really are at capacity, see note on the bulletin board above, but there was something about this mom's request that struck a chord in our Spirit. She came requesting to enroll her son 3 weeks late with very little explanation. We didn't know all the details, but felt strongly like we needed to take Alexander in. You see, in our community, the public schools have 2 shifts of students, from 8a-12p and 2p - 6p and still there is not enough room for all of the children to go to school. So, some kids just have to wait out the year.  Mom was extremely grateful to have Alexander join our school, and he arrived promptly the next day and hasnt missed a day yet. Well, it didn't take long before the community 'chisme' got back to us. Didn't you know?? This is the kid that was beaten so severely by his dad in the campo that he was hospitalized for a week.   Mom obtained custody after this awful event and that's why little Alexander was enrolling 3 weeks late. Now we understood why we had such a heavy heart when the mom came in that day. She never uttered a word about this, but the Holy Spirit knew. Every day that I see little Alexander I'm amazed at his "corazon feliz" as his face has the most precious smile that you have ever seen. I know that there is still alot of emotional healing that is needed, but I thank God that he has protected this kid's heart and spirit that he can still find so much to smile about. Thank you Lord!

Campo:  Kids will often be sent to the 'campo' to live with relatives in the country/rural areas, for one reason or another.

Chisme:  Gossip