A "family reunion" in Mexico

This week was a major victory for Lisa and me.  We got to spend time with our three kids at the orphanage where they are temporarily being housed.  They had just been released from the Social Services holding center here in Monterrey after 7 long months of struggle. For those who don't know, our little girl Fernanda almost died of tetanus this summer while spending time with her family during vacation.  Through a series of unfortunate events, she and her siblings were released into the families custody, had a concrete block dropped on her foot, was not treated soon enough and ended up close to death in the hospital in Monterrey. Because of the seriousness of the illness and other events surrounding it, the three kids were taken into custody and we and our friends Jim and Betty at Back2Back Mexico have been fighting to get them released ever since. 


I want to try to describe to you what our reunion, after 7 months, felt like.

First of all, there is always that worry in the back of my mind… will they still feel the same way about us?  Will they be upset that we were not able to visit them for so long?  Will they understand that we were not permitted to see them?  Will they have changed?  So many questions.

My fears were put to rest the instant the girls saw us.  There is no feeling like having two little girls rush you and drown you in unconditional love!  The first thing they said, “Let’s go play on the swings!”  All of the horrible things that they had gone through for the past 7 months had seemingly vanished!  Not a second thought!  They wanted to play with people who they know love them.   Oh to be a kid, eh?  Letting go of the crap and holding on to what is important.  So… we played on the swings.  Then we played on the giant slide. Then we connected the dots (sort of) in a book we brought. Then we ate and just enjoyed being together.  No time had passed, nothing had changed, the love was just as real as ever.  We felt it!  They felt it!  Everyone content.

A little later our nine-year-old boy came back from a doctor’s appointment.  Not ‘goofy emotional’ as his sisters.  When he approached me he buried his head in my chest and held on.  My insides were churning.  This boy is mature way beyond his years.  He has seen far more than 9-year-old eyes should ever see.  He has every reason to be bitter with the fate this world has thrown him.  But there is no bitterness, no anger; he just wants to feel loved.   When he lifted his head I grabbed the sides of his face, looked him straight in the eyes and said, “Te quiero mucho!”  (I love you so much).  He knows.  They all need to know.

That’s my job… it’s who I am… it’s my calling… to love the unlovable, to rescue the orphan, to father the fatherless, to give hope in a world that is harsh and brutal.   This world chews up and spits out children like they mean nothing.  There are over 163,000,000 orphans worldwide!  There are more than 1,500,000 here in México alone.  The abandoned, the forgotten, the abused… the hurting, the helpless, the hopeless… I will never be without a job.

Possibilities International partnering with Back2Back México to form ‘Casa Posibilidades’ is our response to this mess.  We will fight together for the cause of the orphan.  We are going to need help though… your help.  It’s worth it… they are worth it.  We can do far more together than we can ever do alone.  Thanks for partnering with us!