Desperate for you
Dear friends,
I hope this letter finds you well. A lot has happened since my last blog post, I’ve been taking all my classes online, I’ve been leading two different bible studies, I’ve been giving English classes to some of my kids from and outside the church, I’ve been translating for some of the clergy meetings of my dioceses and I’ve also become a 24/7 nurse for my grandparents.
Life is crazy right now and I think we all are trying to adjust to our “new normal” It could be challenging but there’s nothing else we can do about it, right? This is one of those situations where the only thing you can do is pray and hope for the best. For me, having to lead online bible studies has been hard, especially when you are working with teenagers, I’m sure my youth minister friends will understand what I’m going through. It’s a little frustrating not being able to have in person bible studies with my kids, I hate it that I can’t take them to the park, to have ice cream or to the pool, I hate it that we can't share pizza or snacks on saturdays as we used to. Not only because is fun but because it was a great opportunity to help them forget about the problems they have to face daily.
One of my girls from the junior group called me the other day, she was crying. It appeared she had some problems in school, with her friends and family. She comes from a broken family, her mom had her when she was very young, she never met her dad, and has been living with her grandmother since she was 5 years old. Now the mom has a new family, still checks on her but doesn’t live with her. This is one of the reasons why she had to go through some of the stuff, kids her age shouldn’t.
I’m happy to share that her mom is trying really hard to become a better person, a better daughter and a better mom. She has been attending one of our online bible studies and it seems to be helping her. She still has a long way ahead but I’m confident that with God’s help she and her family are going to heal wounds and come out stronger.
I felt so bad because I couldn’t hug her as she was crying on the phone, the only thing I could do was listen and give her my advice. I know how hard it is for kids her age having to deal with breakups, gossip, temptation and family problems. I remember when I was her age and how infuriating was when people tried to minimize your problems saying things like “It’s not a big deal, you will get over it, you should be stronger, that’s not a good enough reason for you to cry, etc.” The truth is you don’t wan to hear those things, you just want to cry and let it out a lout, you just want to find someone who would listen without judging.
September was National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, a time to share resources and stories in an effort to shed light on this highly taboo and stigmatized topic. I know not everyone is comfortable talking about this, but this is real and is happening right now all over the USA, all over Ecuador and everywhere.
“Ecuador: 9-year-old girl commits suicide after not having money to eat due to quarantine”
This was the title one of the local newspapers wrote about this heartbreaking case. This little girl apparently desperate for her family financial situation, was found hanging from a beam by one of her brothers, according to neighbors the children spent most of their time alone, because their mother worked as a street seller, but during the confinement by COVID-19, they did not have money to buy food. The trigger for suicide could have been that the three children had been without anything to eat for three days.
Sometimes we take everything for granted (our morning coffee, that loaf of breath we were too full to eat, the lunch we got at a restaurant that was too salty and we threw it away, etc.) We don’t realize there are people starving to death in the world. I can’t imagine what this family must have been going through and not only this family but thousands of families that have been terribly affected by COVID-19.
It’s hard to imagine a 9 year old taking away her own life, because she didn’t have money to buy food, it makes me think how desperate she must have been. Not only for food but desperate for Jesus. Most of the teens tend to loss track and runaway from God, not knowing that the farthest you are from God, the most desperate you will feel. I wonder if things could have been different for that little girl, only if she had had someone to tell her about the great love of our father.
This is one of the reasons why I try to be so intentional with my kids from the church, I don’t want them to feel like there’s no other solution to their problems than taking their own life. Being aware of what the teens of the church are going through it’s a huge responsibility, we could easily forget they need to process things, they need solo time, they need to talk about their bodies and how they are changing, even if they embarrass them.
Working with these kids has brought so much happiness to my life, it makes me feel like I’m doing something good and I’m part of something bigger. It also kind of makes sense now, I had to go through a rough path in my life when I was their age, so I could identify myself with them and understand what they are facing in order to help them.
I know it’s difficult to keep connected with them during this chaotic time, but I found a way to express my love for them and also promote suicide awareness. I made some “Christian Survival kits” last month. Each kit contained:
· Cross necklace: to help them remember how much Jesus loves them.
· Candle: to help them remember they should let their light shine so everyone can see it.
· Notebook: to help them remember that the future is like a blank paper sheet, they can write their story every day.
· Eraser: to help them remember that we all make mistakes, but we can still correct them in time.
· Pen: to help them remember a life without Jesus is like a pen without ink.
· Elastic band: to help them remember they should be flexible but not breakable.
· Sticker numbers: to help them remember they should count their blessings every day.
· Marshmallows: to help them remember how loved they are.
· Gum: to help them remember they should stick to the law and fight to be a better person.
· Lollipop: to help them sweetener their problems.
You have no idea how much the kids loved this kit. I think it remained them how bless they are to have a church community who supports them and loves them no matter what. Not everything has to be material. However, little details like this one could make a profound impact in the lives of teens, especially when they come from broken homes and are struggling economically.
Some of the messages they wrote were:
"I love this, it makes me think of how important everything is. I like the notebook because I can write and remember I still have a future waiting for me and I have to fight for it".
"The message this kit gave me was to not forget that even if I messed it up I can still correct it and turn around, it also remained me that God will be there for me, giving me many blessings and will never leave me during difficult times".
"I really like this gift, it made me think how much God loves me. I'm thankful to have people like you who look after me and are always so nice and kind, I love everyone in the church and I pray for everyone daily".
I’m attaching some pictures of the junior group and the Christian survival kits. Enjoy it!
Thank you so much for taking your time to read this, I really appreciate it! I’m currently looking for donations for a Christmas party for the junior group, if you want to know more please send me an email, I’ll love to tell you more about it and how you can help me make it possible.
SOMETHING YOU CAN PRAY FOR
· Please pray for wisdom and patience. I’m currently looking for a mentor who would like to help me on my journey of faith and growth. I need someone who will be willing to have personalized online bible studies, someone I could share my feelings with.
· Please pray for my studies, thanks to COVID-19 I couldn’t do any of my clinicals this year and nursing school is not the same without the required practice.
· Please pray for my family, especially for my grandma, her health has declined a lot this year.
· Please pray for my church community and their homes, a lot of our parishioners have COVID-19 and have a lot of financial problems.
· Please pray for a new project I’m about to start (I’ll tell you more about it in my next blog post)
If you would like to help me share the gospel by giving me the chance to continue my studies in nursing school, you can make a donation by clicking the link below.
👇👇👇👇👇
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