I (Anna) have exciting news! Yesterday there was a girl from center 2 sponsored by Shelby, a Manos Extendidas summer intern, and another 12 yeasr old youth girl from Center 1 area was sponsored by Pastor Scott Wood. Pastor Scott is from Fredericton,N.B. He is the overseer of Boaz Lighthouse Ministry.
Scott has a heart for youth. His mission, Boaz, ministers in Haiti, the Dominica Republic and Honduras. Scott, as result of his visits to Honduras and his love for teens, has become “Papi Scott” to many of the girls in the youth prison here in the city of Tegucigalpa. He encourages the girls through letters, letting them know he loves them, Jesus loves them and that he is always praying for them.
Last night Pastor Scott and I were chatting. I asked him if he saw the picture of Estefani I had on my facebook. He said tell me her story.
Estefani is a 12 years old girl that loves her family. She is a girl who is always smiling and ready to help in all ways. She loves school and is in grade 6. Unfortunately, due to a lack of income in her family this school year, she has not been able tatted classes. Gordon and I wanted to sponsor her so she could return to school, but it was too late in the year to start and the principal suggested that she start fresh again next year.
When I first meet Estefani she was hanging around the Manos Extendidas pre-school at Center #1 with her brother while he waited for his lunch before he went to public school. This is his first year being sponsored. When I spoke with the family, I could see how thankful they are for their son’s sponsor. Having a sponsor, for them and others, means a changed future for the child and the family.
I suggested to Nancy, the teacher of Center #1, that she ask Estefani to be her helper and I told Nancy I was going to pray for a sponsor for Estefani. Every time I have visited the school, I have received a big hug from Estefani. I just love her!
Well when Scott and I had finished chatting, I sent him a picture of Estefani and he said, “It’s funny, but as soon as I saw her picture I knew in my heart I needed to sponsor her. There is something in her. I believe she is going to be a success. My heart is to invest in teens and I am always drawn to help them, kids like Estefani, they impact my heart. I will sponsor her starting this month. Thank you for connecting my heart to hers!”
Who is your heart connected to? You know, there are still many children in need here in Honduras and at Manos Extendidas, that are still needing and waiting for sponsors..
We may not always understand our own heart. But God has a heart for little children. In fact, “Jesus took a small child and had him stand among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said, ‘Whoever accepts a child like this in my name accepts me. And whoever accepts me accepts the One who sent me.’” (Mark 9:36-37). That is the heart that drives our lives and ministry and the ministry of Manos Extendidas. Our prayer is that as people become connected to His heart, some will also connect to the heart of, and support, a needy child here in Honduras! A child who is, already in the heart of God.