Adrienne: Guns & Dolls and a few other things

Well, everything's back to normal after the holidays. We had our Three Kings celebration with the kids on January 6, last Monday. The Dominican tradition is for all of the little kids to each get a gift on that day. The Emanuel House kids (many of whom are the poorest in the town in which I live) each received lots of cake, candy, soda and in the end the girls received huge dolls and the boys received big cars. The money for the party was donated by a church in the states. It was truly a crazy yet fun celebration.

Likewise over at the girls home, the kids celebrated Three Kings Day but in a different way. Being a girls home has its advantages. Many people who have met the girls there enjoy it so much that they wanted to give them gifts for the holidays. In doing so, the girls received a few different gifts during a few different small and big parties. On Three Kings Day, supposedly there were kids at the gate of their home asking for gifts. Dalma, the owner of the orphanage was so torn as to what to do. (I imagine that not getting a gift on Three Kings Day would be like not getting a gift on Christmas.) So, Dalma and the girls at Pasitos de Jesus did what any compassionate person would do, right? They went inside and gathered gifts that others had brought to them and handed them out to kids on the street who hadn't received a gift yet. Awesome lessons that the little ones are learning... to share what's been given to them. Amazing.

One of my biggest surprises and disappointments after being back for the holidays are the guns that are everywhere. Fortunately, they are not real guns, but they are still guns. Boys, many who are teenagers were given guns for Christmas. On the streets around dusk, it is not uncommon to see teenagers with their very real looking toy black guns chasing other kids down the street. Oh, did I mention that they have cloth wrapped around their heads covering every part except their eyes. They look like terrorists or bank robbers. Truly I ask for prayer over Quisqueya's young boys. I ask that God would raise up men to disciple and lead these young boys. I hear people say, "They are just mimicking what they see on t.v." which may be true, but it's so sad. Please pray for Godly men to enter their lives. There is an incredible need for Godly men in this community.

Contrary to the boys and much to my surprise, 13 and 14 year old girls received dolls for Christmas and they enjoy playing with them. I don't know what it says about a community where boys get guns and girls get dolls, but it's the reality where I live.

Overall, since I've been back, I have been getting back into the groove of things. Look below to see what I've been up to:

I have spent more and more time with 5 little girls (4, 6, 9, 11, and 12 years old) whose mother is dying of cancer. Please pray for her mother's pain. Her name is Elpidia and she is unable to get out of her bed and she has to depend on her neighbor to take care of the girls. They have had lice twice since I've known them. Pray for the girls and their future and for their health. Plans are being made as to where they will live once their mom dies.

I have hired a few young people (early 20s) who were in need of work to help input library books in my computer. Please pray that the money they earn in helping me will provide for food for their families. Pray that the skills learned in using the computer can be beneficial later and that they will also pass those skills on to others. It is possible that I have found my librarians for when I am not available. Thanks be to God! Please pray for confirmation in that!

I am reading When Helping Hurts and learning a ton about poverty and how to approach it in a way that brings God's Kingdom to Earth. Please pray that I seek out God in everything that I do. The last thing that I want to do in ministry is hurt those that I believe God has sent me to help.

Praise God for all of the donations of books. I don't have a final count yet, but hopefully I will post pictures in the next couple of weeks. I am hoping for it to "open" for a few hours a day by the end of January.