Thirty Five Dollars and 3 Months.

Everyday when I leave in the morning and return in the evening I look for these 3 girls who play in the park outside my apartment. Since the day I arrived they have been there several times a week. They participate in the Saturday Lumina program where they come and hear a bible story and then get a sandwich or a pizza from the bakery. However, during the week they stay on the streets begging for food and money.

Eleven year old Mariana carries that baby around on her hip all day and is responsible for her as well as Erica her 4 year old sister. Their matted hair and worn clothes are signs of the poverty and despair they live in. In the past months I found out that they live in the Garden, I don't know where that is or what that means but it has to be near here.

Every time I see them I greet them from a distance and they tell me they are hungry. I go to the nearest store and buy them bread, milk, fruit or yogurt. With $35 that was donated to the mission I decided to see how long and how many kids I could feed. In one month, I not only fed these kids but several others.

Mariana and her siblings always take the food and I tell them that Jesus loves them. They usually take it at a distance, never getting to close, and always have a smile. I tell them to say thank you and pray before they eat and as I walk away they set up their little meal in the park playhouse.

When I was gone for 2 weeks and returned I saw them for the first time at Lumina. Erica ran to me and greeted me with a hug that would melt your heart. She hugged so tight I did not think she would let go! I was surprised as the relationship we have was strictly about the food but in this moment I knew it was so much more than food! I am still moved to tears by the warm greeting. The bonus is that for the first time, Marianna brought her 2 brothers to Lumina.

Thirty five dollars and 3 months, my life and these girls lives have been changed and we both know that love goes deeper than money and food. Words can't express the love I have for these kids on the streets wondering around, hanging out in parks and bakery's asking for food and money.

My time is in the middle here and nearing the end, as I return to the States in September. When I return there will be a clear plan on how, where and when we will be able to feed these kids and their families. Thank you for your love, prayers and support, these kids are just one example of many lives we are changing here. These girls give me hope that we can and are, "changing lives around the world with the love of Christ, one step at a time!"