Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Amigos de Jesus Remembers


        It is easy to be forgotten in Honduras.  Children come to Amigos de Jesus because they have been neglected, abandoned, rejected and left to survive on their own.  Our Oscarito was left alone to fend for himself when he could barely hold himself up or feed himself.  Others of our children have been abused in unimaginable ways while adults turn a blind eye to torture, incest, rape, starvation, and slavery.  Many of our children are born to children who never had a childhood.  Still more have wandered the streets, struggled to escape abuse, begged for food, or had their families torn apart by violence.  To be alive after what has happened to them is an accomplishment.  The fact that our children live life with a smile on their faces is an inspiration.  Someone once told Fr. O’Donnell that even more than their smiles is the brightness of their eyes – both their smiles and their eyes make them impossible to forget. 
       Yet our children do even more than smile.  They give.  They serve.  They share love, they offer prayers, and they actively seek to make the world a more humane and beautiful place.  Our children who our world almost forgot will never forget the people of our world.  

Six months ago the Lord decided that Oscarito had left enough of an impact to be remembered by and that 48 days of us pouring love into him was long enough; so our sweet angel was called to heaven where he watches over us.  If Oscarito had not found a home and a family at Amigos de Jesus, he would have died alone and been buried in an unmarked and forgotten grave.  Instead, we are building him a cemetery up on the hill behind the big white cross at Amigos de Jesus.  In the meantime his tiny body is resting at an overgrown, trash-ridden cemetery in the nearby community of Macuelizo.

        Oscarito’s grave is one of several bright spots in the otherwise bleak cemetery.  His dignified grave bears the marks of love of a large family, and the special touches of the 19-year-old who cared for him.  David comes home to Amigos twice a month from the city where he is in University.  He keeps Oscarito’s plot immaculately maintained, free from litter and brush and surrounded by plants and flowers.
       Our children know that Oscarito could have ended up in a forgotten, neglected grave.  They know that if it were not for Amigos de Jesus, they would have been neglected and forgotten too.  So they decided to do something to show that not only is Oscarito alive in the hearts of our family, but that they also have room in their giant hearts to remember others. 

Six months from the day we buried Oscarito the Amigos de Jesus family honored our angel by remembering people who have been forgotten.  Our oldest young men spent 5 hours hacking away at overgrown tropical brush, picking up garbage, cleaning off graves, and beautifying parts of the cemetery.


  Our girls spent a week collecting plastic bottles to turn into flowers and wreaths that they  painstakingly painted and arranged to put on graves.  The same garbage that had littered the cemetery was transformed into a beautiful symbol of love from our children. 
       We spent the entire afternoon of the six-month anniversary of Oscarito’s burial at the cemetery.  We admired the work of the older boys, we decorated graves with lovingly placed flowers, we walked together, told stories of people we have lost, and stayed close to each other.

At the end of our time at the cemetery David led prayer circle around Oscarito’s grave and we prayed to Oscarito and for the people buried in the cemetery, for the people our children have lost, and for the Amigos de Jesus family around the world.  Our children remembered.  Our children remember.
     There are so many people who make up our Amigos de Jesus family.  Our children do not forget you.  To all of you everywhere on behalf of Oscarito and our children, THANK YOU for their bright eyes, THANK    YOU for their smiles, THANK YOU for remembering. 

- Amy Escoto - Operations Director

If you would like to see more pictures from the day, please check them out on our Facebook page 
 
 

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

International Volunteer Day



Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but give yourself to humble tasks; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.   
 Romans 12:13-18

   
The children of Amigos de Jesus are blessed by the presence of volunteers who serve as teachers, mentors, surrogate parents, leaders, friends and role models.  We currently have 17 young men and women who serve Amigos de Jesus on a full-time basis as volunteers through several different programs.

Six volunteers make up the Amigos de Jesus volunteer community:  Ali, Emilia, Emma, Joanna, Laura, Pat; Meg is the volunteer coordinator; Jenn and Dan are serving as a couple; Ben, Elena, Jose and Karenna teach at our school through our partner organization BECA; Christopher, Geidy, Graciela and Viviana teach at our school through a volunteer program for Honduran teachers.  All 17 of these amazing human beings give of their time and energy to serve our children and allow us to offer countless opportunities to your boys and girls that we would not be able to offer without people who dedicate themselves to Amigos de Jesus while expecting nothing in return. 

December 5 is International Volunteer Day and the entire Amigos family gave a few hours to celebrate our volunteers who have given countless hours to our family.  We started with a prayer service where our children had the chance to understand how Jesus calls us to serve and how the volunteers fulfill the gospel through their work with our children.  Some of the things are children mentioned about the volunteers:

“They share works of love for us children who need it.”

“They are always helping us with any problems any of us have.”

“It is clear that they have Christ in their hearts and they live this by helping those who need it.”

“We can follow their example and the example of Jesus by praying and sharing what we have received- not just material things, but also the love and peace of God we’ve been given.”

“They live their values and share them with others and teach us to be good people in the future.”

“They are part of our family and treat us like they are our mothers and fathers.”

“They inspire us to look for ways to serve others in our community.”

“Everything they do is done with enthusiasm and a smile, even when it is difficult.”

After the reflection with the children, the volunteers were invited to sit at a special table and were served a dinner prepared in their honor- Pizza!- which was served to them by the children and other members of our family.  The dining room was decorated with their names and photos and reflections on why they were important. They were each given cards that the children and teenagers made for them along with a t-shirt. And as with many days of celebration, the night ended with a bit of dancing and our traditional prayer circle.
  
  
!MUCHAS GRACIAS! to all of the amazing volunteers who serve the children of Amigos de Jesus.