We take the work we do here very seriously. As we mentioned before, with the privilege of serving Costa Rica’s children comes an immense responsibility to be good stewards of all that He has given us, including the children in our care. Over the past ten years, the PANI has begun to recognize the difference we are making in the kids lives in comparison to other organizations. On a number of occasions references have been made to the role “religion” plays in our institution (we know its God). Non-Christians in places of authority are taking note that when we pray, the children change. Dominic, the boy featured on the front page, was facing an emergency situation. His adoptive parents were going to drop him off at the Office of Adoptions the next morning. The office manager convened his team together, and due to the delicate nature of the boys situation they began to brainstorm as to where they should try to place him. That same morning, our psychologist was attending a meeting at the PANI office, when she was snagged for a briefing on Dominic’s case. The manager told her that the Abraham Project was their first choice because we are specialist in restoring children’s lives. God is the ultimate specialist.
We are so humbled that they would notice these things about our place. Each person who works here feels a undeniable call from God to minister to the children. We are here to make sure that their voices are heard because God commands us to help the orphan and the fatherless. We give the Lord all the glory for giving each one of our staff members the grace and fortitude to work hard, love well, and fight for them purposefully.
Last month we relayed the news that we have a number of cases sitting in the Office of Adoptions. They are in the process of “promoting’ the kids with a number of adoption agencies around the globe. We have heard that there is a potential family interested in adopting Angela & Jefreson, however, the family is waiting for their paperwork to clear immigrations here in Costa Rica. Yamil is still waiting. His file has been in adoptions since February. We are trusting God will provide just the right family for a sweet boy. Anthony & Aislinn are also on the docket waiting for a family. Sometimes, we think that the processes are taking way to long, but God’s timetable is different than ours. He knows how long each child needs to be here before they leave.
We want to share a story about one such boy and God’s perfect timing. Anthony has been struggling in school. He is super smart, but just dislikes school. Our house parents, Esteban & Gabby, don’t have any problems with him at home. They say that he’s obedient and helpful, however, at school and in the daycare it’s like pulling teeth! He is disobedient and disrupts class by talking and acting out. We have all been at our wit’s end trying to figure out how to reach him. On July 10th, the prayer group (all women) carried out an activity with the kids in the homes. At one point, they broke off and prayed with the children individually. We noticed that the lady that was praying for Anthony was leading him in the sinner’s prayer. Afterwards, she told us that unprompted Anthony told her that he wanted to accept Jesus as his Savior. Since that day, he has been a different young man! You can see the difference on his face. He’s still working on his behavior at school, but he hasn’t brought home any notes from the teacher (in one week he had brought home 10 notes from the instructor about his conduct!). Anthony has a servant’s heart. We have often put him to clean or do something around the homes as a consequence and find him happy as a lark! Instead of being a consequence, he finds joy in doing and working! He has very admirable characteristics and we know God is doing good things in his heart! Even though we would love for Adoptions to find him a family right now, we can see God at work even in the timing of things.
We have always viewed the children’s homes like a clinic for brokenhearted kids. Our goal is for every child to leave this place as emotionally and spiritually healthy as they can before integrating into a new family. We are so grateful for your steadfast prayers and support!