Christmas with 100+ Children

Take all the excitement, and anticipation that your kids bring to the Christmas season and then multiply it by 50; that's what Christmas was like at Door of Faith. The amount of people that went out of their way to make sure the kids of DOFO had a wonderful Christmas was innumerable. From the groups that came by with presents to the "older siblings" that purchased gifts on behalf of sponsors to the people that seem to show up out of nowhere with gifts. I was blown away as the people that were return visitors to some that were here for the fist time with gifts. One family I met just spontaneously drove from L.A. with the trunk of their car filled, packed with presents to give out in Mexico. When I asked them how they heard of Door of Faith, they said a taxi driver game them directions and sent them here! I also had the priveledge of meeting a couple that organizes and displays at their church all the kids at Door of Faith so that people can sponsor kids for Christmas, 12th Day and all of the birthdays. We even had a group of Russian believers come and Christmas carol for the kids, pray over them and leave them with bags of treats. My view of how many people it takes to keep this place going has definetly been expanded.

On Christmas morning, after breakfast, the children were all gathered in a circle of picnic tables. Each dorm waited at their table and waited for their name to be called. Next a black bag filled with presents was brought to each child. When DJ gave the word, the kids simutaneously began opening their gifts. I've never seen anything like it. They loved everything they received, even clothes, because they were new clothes and new shoes and not "hand-me-downs". It was the job of all the adults present to quickly write the owners names on the gifts so everything went to it's proper owner.

When all the gifts had been open, the sound of the orphanage went from crazy loud to quite smiles and preoccupation with their new things. Still to this day the kids gather all over the playground with their new toys and play. It's a beautiful sight to behold.

Groups are still coming for a day here or there. Some stay a little longer. It's been great weather too. This last week of Christmas break the kids have had skits and singing and games and crafts .....and lots of smiles. I can see how orphans have a special place in God's heart. This has been an incredible couple of weeks.

Cristo Vive

Today started off with a change of plans. I was going to go to the states to pick up a family in the states and bring them to DOFO but they found a ride. I was going to purchase some gifts in the states, but since I wasn't going to go the family that I was going to pick up offered to make the purchase for me.

Later in the day, our orphanage and another orphanage were the guests at the local restaurant, La Fonda's. It's right on the beach and they served an all you can eat buffet. I was so impressed with their generosity. The economy has really effected their business and at times I wondered if they were going to have to close thier doors. Yet, today they had clowns and a buffet for 2 orphanages. It was pretty amazing. The clown played lots of games with the kids and they were rewarded with the choice of a dollar or prize for each time they won.

This evening, was our Christmas Talent Show. It ranged from 4 and 5 year old dressed up as dancing reingdeer, to different dorms singing, to dramas and finished with some wrap. The moment that was precious to me was when the little boys dorm was going to sing. One of the boys, Mickey, doesn't speak more than a few words. So, his part was to hold the microphone for the kids to sing into. It was precious. He took his job seriously and was glad to have a way to participate.

After most of the Talent Show was finished, we went to the dining room for tamales, turkey, mashed potatoes, beans and pasta salad followed with some bonuelos for desert. It was great. What a treat for us. Then it was back to the chapel to hear the rest of the Talent Show. As the kids were entering, the little boys were coming up to the mic to say something because a live mic is just hard for little boys to resist. They ranged in age from about 4 to 6 and one of the boys ran up to the mic and began to say over and over "Cristo vive! Cristo vive!" I could think of a lot of things that a little boy might say in the mic, but that caught me by surprise.

What a wonderful thought, to think, that just maybe a little boy may never had known that Christ lives had he not grown up in an orphanage. Makes me think how the scriptures declare that God's plan for us is good, not to harm us, but to give us a future and a hope.

Sunday's Celebration

It's a tradition at the church we're at, Christiano Templo Elim, to celebrate the previous week's birthdays in the Sunday service. Right after the sermon and before the singing, all the children enter the service and everyone is asked if they've recently had a birthday to come to the front. I walked down with my buddy Leonardo who shares the same birthday as me and we were greeted with many hugs from the congregation. Most of them came from the children of the orphanage. I think it was the record for most hugs in one day! It was great!

When we got home, there was a group of Americans that were preparing pizza for the children. They also came with their own Santa and presents to pass out to the children. It was a pretty exciting afternoon.

In the evening Lynette, six teen girls from DOFO and myself joined with some others from our church to go Tijuana. Our pastor's son pastors a church in Tijuana and we were invited to lead worship for their Christmas celebration. It was quite the evening. After the sermon, about 8:30pm we were served a wonderful Christmas dinner with all the trimmings.

Everyone is so nice wherever we go. I'm hugged and kissed on the cheek everywhere I go it seems. I thought about this tradition...the hug and kiss. To some it may seem a little awkward, but if you think about it, when someone greets you with a hug and kiss, you're pretty sure that things are right between you and that individual. I know that if I was holding a grudge with someone, the last thing I could do would be give them a hug and kiss. It's like it's the test to prove that everything is good between two individuals.

Getting Busy Preparing for Christmas

Today is my birthday. When got up my sons wished me a happy birthday and proceeded to give me gifts. They were very thoughtful and had to be very resourceful due to our living in Mexico. It takes a little creativity and planning to get someone a gift. I know this very well because yesterday I was in the states finishing a little Christmas shopping.

Today was also the birthday of my little amigo Leonardo. Because we share the same birthday, and we arrived here at Door of Faith close to the same time, Leonardo holds a special place in my heart. I had bought him a hot wheel and some race track for his birthday. When I went to give it to him, I noticed that his mother, grandmother and a man came to visit him. I hesitated interrupting their family time, but I was encouraged to go ahead and present my gift. His mother welcomed me and served my some flan that she brought for his birthday. It was nice, happy and sad all at the same time. I don't know all the reasons that the different children are at Door of Faith. I just see the behavior of the children and can usually guess. Today, though, I would have given anything for the thoughts of Leonardo as he sat with his family in the orphanage celebrating his birthday.

At lunch today, Oscar, a boy that I sponsor, came up to me and gave me a great big hug and wished me a Happy Birthday in English. He smiled and said "Today is your birthday?" I told him yes and then he replied that it was also his sister's birthday today, but that she lived at another orphanage. Again, I would have given anything for this little boys thoughts of being apart from his sister on her birthday. I'm told, however, that he does get to see her regularly on Sundays at church.

The chiropractor returned today! I felt like it was my birthday present from God. I love chiropractic care. We also had a group from in the states and another group that were Russian. They sang Russian Christmas carols and other worship songs while the children ate their lunch. Then they prayed over the children before they left. Wish you could have heard these people sing. It made me think that all the singing of the Lord Jesus that for many years was not allowed in their country was now bursting out in great freedom. I don't think I've ever heard such strong voices, especially the men's voices.

At dinner tonight, there were a few of us at the front of the dining hall with birthday cakes in front of us. All the recent December birthdays were lined up and all the children sang "Es la son de Manyanitas" (I have no idea if that's even close to the correct spelling.) It's the song they sing for birthdays. It was very sweet.

Tyler asked me this evening if I had had a good birthday. I told him yes. I remember for many years dreaming of being able to serve in an orphanage and never thinking it would happen. And here I am celebrating my birthday at an orphanage. God truly does give us the desires of our heart.

There's Music in the Air!

Yesterday, there was a knock on my door about 7:20 a.m. One of the girls here asked me in Spanish if I had a flute that she could take to school. She was leaving in about 10 minutes. I asked her to repeat her request because I thought it was odd. But I soon learned that she was requesting a recorder. Still a strange request at 7:20 a.m., but I happened to have salvaged 2 recorders I had found in the music room when I first arrived here in September. I ran in my house and showed her what I had and she smiled as though it was exactly what she was looking for.

Later that evening, I heard the beginnings of the Christmas song "Silent Night". I found the girl and told her that I used to teach music in the states and that I thought she was doing a good job. Later at dinner, this same girl ran up to me and asked me in English "Raben, will you teach me to play the flouta?" I told I would be glad to and she responded, "Oh thank you!" and ran off.

Maybe, just maybe the doors of teaching music here are beginning to open. We'll see.

Missed the Exit

Today, as my new friend Becca and I were coming back from Rosarito, we were so busy about talking about Jesus, the Church, how God was working in us and through us...well be missed the exit to La Mision. We started noticing the how beautiful the ocean was as we kept driving and then I turned to Becca and said..."Did I go too far?" She laughed and said she didn't remember seeing all the beautiful views of the ocean, at least not seeing these particular views. Well, we ended up in Ensenada and found our way back to the orphanage.

If any of you know me well, I had to overcome a lot of fear just to drive to Mexico. Today I had to laugh at God's goodness to me. It was neat to see that fear of driving around Mexico gone. He's brought me so far and because He's faithful, I look forward to the next "Faith Trip".