Relationships That Transform

There are times when we are able to watch experiences that transform people. Sometimes this happens with visiting groups, sometimes this happens with the children and sometimes this happens with the staff.

This last week we were able to watch this transformation happen with a visitor, a child and a staff person. We had the privilege of hosting a group of 8 people from New Hope Church in Bend, Oregon. One of the group members, Tara Sanders, has been sponsoring Miguel for the last year This was her first visit to the mission and the first time she was able to meet Miguel face to face. When she began sponsoring Miguel, he had just moved here with his brother and was beginning the transition of living with rules, structure and 40 other children. During the week that Tara was visiting she was able to spend time with him and begin to get to know him. One of the benefits of sponsorship is that there is an instant trust established when a sponsor meets a child because they have already chosen that child. This was obviously true as Tara and Miguel were around each other and you could see Miguel softening and letting Tara love him.

On Thursday night Tara explained to Miguel that she was going home the next day, that she was so glad she was able to spend the week with him and that she would miss seeing him every day. Tara came back to the visitors’ center crying and talking about how much she had come to care for this child. The next morning in Sala we all found out about the other side of this story. As the staff were saying goodbye to the group, Miguel’s housemother Penny said that she would like to thank Tara for her involvement, her attention and her love in Miguel’s life during the week. She told the story about how Miguel came back to the house after talking to Tara and could not stop crying. In the months leading up to this he would tell Penny that no one ever visited him and no one cared for him. As Penny hugged and comforted Miguel that night he became aware that he had now been visited and that someone had chosen to spend time with him. In Sala, Penny told Tara that she was personally encouraged by this change and this softening in Miguel. Even though the financial commitment behind sponsorship is so important, there is another aspect to this program that was exemplified by this relationship between Tara and Miguel. It’s so important that these children, who have faced lifetimes of rejection and pain, know that someone has chosen them, someone is praying for them and ultimately someone is reflecting Jesus to them.  

Tara and Miguel