Casa Nido

Have you ever had a group of children lay hands on you and pray for you? I can say that I never had until this week. And it was an incredibly powerful experience. On Monday night, Mark and I went for dinner to one of the homes at the Bible Home, Roblealto's temporary shelter. The Bible Home houses 83 children who come from such extreme home situations that they cannot live with their own families at this time. Roblealto has 8 houses with incredible house parents that raise these children until they are able to be reunited with their families. Mark and I had been wanting to connect more with the homes and get to know the house mothers and children better. We find we are working in our office a lot on our projects, which we love, but we've been missing kid contact - not to mention the kids are the heart of Roblealto!

We enjoyed having dinner with the kids and chatting with them in Spanish (good practice!) After dinner, we played some games with the children and then they did a little presentation for us. The older kids had an evangelical skit they did and then all 13 of them (plus the house mother's two own children) circled up and sang songs for us. It was a lot of fun to join in when we could! They sang "My God is so big, so strong and so mighty" in Spanish while we sang in English.

The children have a strict routine and at 8:00 start getting ready for bed. Just before 8, the house mom, Francinie, said we would pray together. She asked Mark and I to sit on the floor in the middle of the kids. They surrounded us and laid hands on us, held our hands, stroked my hair. Francinie explained our role at Roblealto and how we would be helping to host the volunteer groups that come. She then asked 5 of the children to pray for us. It was the most humbling experience to have these children - some as young as 6 years old! - pray with such boldness and faith. They prayed God would bless us, watch over us, provide for us. One little guy, Randall, kept praying and praying, thanking God that we had a roof over our heads and a bed to sleep in. I couldn't keep my tears back. These children, who have suffered so much and seen so much, were a great blessing to us. We have been praying for them, and they, in return, now prayed for us.

Every day we learn a little more about what God is doing here at Roblealto. This is a place where families are healed, come to know God, and truly are transformed. Thank you for your support of us in this year. This Thanksgiving we are thankful for each one of you and for how God has allowed us to be at Roblealto this year. Glory be to God!