a father to the fatherless

this is just a simple story.  because i only

know what i saw.  but this is a story that

rings true in so many little lives around the 

world.

his name is Mario, and he came to

our summer camps last year with his siblings

and the orphanage they live in.

his eyes showed pain and fear.  the

beginning of the week was ok.  he

appeared to be having a good time.  there

was so much love he experienced.  but

the middle of the week he broke.  he didn't

want to participate in  activities and many times

i found him alone crying.

one of our male staff members had several

opportunities to talk with him and just listen.

Mario told him how alone he felt.  he has no one.

i made sure to take the scenic route one evening

when feeding the pigs.  we all gathered around

and tried to fight for this young man by encouraging

words, smiles, love, hope.  but that was just one

week out of the hundreds that he will live alone.  i often

struggle with questions of {how are we making a difference?}

out of the twenty orphanages that came

to our camp last summer, i felt the most

burdened for this one.  the pain and hurt,

the healing and care, that they needed was

great.  it was heavy.  all the staff felt it.

but what happened during that week was

incredible.  it caused us to pray more,

see how small and in signification we are

without Jesus, and at the end of the week

we knew that Jesus love had been poured

out on those little ones.  not because

of us but Him working through us.

after the niños pulled away on the bus,

i headed in to clean the dorms and i found

Mario's name tag.  i stuck it in my bible as

a way to remember him and the millions of

other hurting babies around the world.

{for the needy shall not always be forgotten}

please don't forget