Saturday, May 16, 2009

Two different 27's

We've now had two Club de Niños and they seem to be going really well. We have a space to hold Club for the afternoon group on the patio of one of the kid's house. It's definitely not as orderly, but we still have a good time. A lot of the kids we've been doing home visits and tutoring with come to the Club, so it's great to be able to continue to build relationships with them. To give you an idea the social structure of the community in Los Guido, I have a story to share from this Friday. (I promise to share pictures, soon)

Tracey and I are cutting papers and stickers getting ready for the afternoon group. A bunch of kids are hanging out with us and we are making casual conversation about school and family with the kids.
Carmen who is 16 years old, asks Tracey, "How old are you?
"I'm almost 30", Tracey replies.
"Oh, my mom is only 32 years old," states Carmen.
Mafe, who is the fourth of six kids, the oldest being in high school, turns to me,"How old are you?"
"Twenty-seven", I reply
"Oh, my mom is twenty-seven, too".

No response from me. How do you process that. My life, a single, 27 year old, with no kids, is completely foreign to them. Most of the kids can easily understand that I'm not married, since their mom's normally aren't either. And if there is an adult male living in the house, he's probably not their dad. But the kids really cannot grasp the fact that I don't have any children. My prayer for the girls we are building relationships with, is that they will have another option, that they will be able to break the destructive cycle. That they will have the option to be married to a faithful man and have children within that marriage, if they choose to.

2 comments:

Angie said...

wow that's so crazy...a 27 year old with a high school kid?!
be encouraged that you CAN make a difference:-)

Brad and Sara Osborne said...

Heartbreaking isn't it. I had a similar experience working at Sequoia... miss you friend and I echo your prayer!