The CDI

This is the first of my feature entries I'm going to write. Considering I spend a good chunk of my week at the CDI (or nutrition center in English) I thought it appropriate to write about it first. The basic goals of the CDI are to love children by providing for their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. How do we do this?

Each child that we serve in the CDI is sponsored by awesome people like you that have decided to give to help meet their needs. Marielos, our pastor's wife, writes the menu each month according to the budget. 

What does this look like for the kids? The majority of the kids arrive around noon. They play for a few minutes and then around 12:30 they form their "filas" to go wash their hands. This is one of my tasks. I distribute soap and manage the mayhem that accompanies 30 children all trying to wash their hands in 4 stalls. I have recently taken to timing them. They then head back to the kitchen where the table is all set up. Soñya and Melanie, the women that show up early every day to prepare the food, and I serve them their food. They patiently wait for each person to be served, they pray (my favorite part), and they eat. The meal is anything from baked chicken, vegetables and rice to spaghetti. They then are served their drink and head back to the bathroom to brush their teeth. I also time this...

Here is where the spiritual aspect comes in. The kids return to their seats to hear a Bible story. I usually read it and Soñya askeds follow up questions. They pray again and thank God for the hands that made their food and for another day to live. Now it's play time!

We play everything from duck duck goose to tag to fútbol and everything in between. Sometimes the girls like to play with my hair, sometimes they like to tickle me, sometimes we just sit and chat. I'm really trying to teach them about love and respect right now. They fight a lot and I pray that my outpouring of love makes them want to do the same. 

Around 2:30 it's time for their snack. After that the misbehaving kids do the cleaning and it's time to go. Each day as the children leave I pray for them. I pray that God guards them, that they have something to eat, that they are safe. 

The truth is I absolutely love every sing one of these kids. I love their laughs, I love their sweaty hugs, I love their dark eyes, and I really love how readily they give their love away. Some of these kids deal with things on a daily basis at 9 years old that I, at 24, could never dream of. I have two parents, a stable income, food on the table, security. Many of them have none of this. This spurs me to love them even more. I will never run out of hugs or stop smiling at them. 

I've heard many pastors talk about how having children has taught them a lot about God's love for us. These children are not mine, but they teach me so much every day. Even if they are not listening , fighting with the other kids, or just annoying me, I still delight in them. They are still amazingly beautiful to me and I feel as though there is nothing they could do to make me love them less. How much more the father loved us. 

On a final note there are a few exciting things you can be praying for. First we are expanding the CDI and it is really shaping up! Pray that the space can bless the children and their families. With the space comes more kids!  Please pray that these new kids feel loved and cared for and most of all that they can know the love of Christ.

Here are a few of the beautiful children I have the opportunity to interact with every day!

Standing in awe of the fathers love for his children,

Sigourney