Family Event..(aka my big crazy family holiday)
I may have written a few months back about the inspiration for something I named ´Family Event´. I woke up one morning thinking about an ex street girl /(who coincidently was the most impacted on the trip) and her little family, and how I had seen the need to support her, and other street families in how to raise their kids and function as a ´normal´ family. This idea developed into a full blown family event holiday with 3 ex street girls and their children plus a friend and Bolivian family.
The whole idea was to take the girls and kids away to not only have some down time, but more importantly help to take them to another level in their journey away from the streets and as the saying goes, not only take the kid out of the streets, but the streets out of the kid!
We were away for 3 days and in true Bolivian fashion the departure time was delayed by 2 and a half hours..but apart from that it went smoothly..considering we were a group of 14 including adults and children! Once we arrived it was so nice to see the faces of the girls and their children as they saw the really nice hotel and swimming pool…much appreciated in the sweltering heat of the Bolivian Jungle. Most of them had never been away on a holiday and none of them had been to this part of Bolivia, so it was a real privillege to be the first to take them away.
There wasnt a programme as such..but we took advantage of the down times and meal times to encourage the girls in the step they had taken to turn their lives around and leave the streets. They seemed really touched when the husband of the family who came with us told them that they were brave for leaving the streets and with that same bravado they could now advance further and further. They were also very honest about their life beforehand and the not so distant ´failures´ they had committed..it almost felt like a confession camp!
There was a time we saw a real turning point in one of the girls. Of her own admission, she gets angry very easily and while spending some time with her it was obvious how this really affected her children and as I had felt before, had every risk of creating more children who would escape the home and possibly become street children themselves. It took alot of guts and there was a risk of her rejecting what we said, but I decided the risk was worth it decided to her about the danger of the way she was raising her children. I left her on her own to think…and calm down and was very shocked to hear that she was asking for me to come back to her room and she was ´crying her heart out´ (there was an incident that she had reacted very badly to towards her children). I eventually got back to her room to find her very sorrowful and thankfully talking to the mother of the Bolivian family I had invited to come with us (something I was very happy about). She said how very bad she felt for how she reacted and acknowledged her own frustration with how to raise a child and we were able to talk to her and advise her for around a hour and pray with her for God to help her in her own emotional issues and how to become a better parent. I have never seen her so attentive and repentant and the change was event the next day when she was far more patient and loving towards her children!
Another part of the trip was to build some self esteem in the girls. One of the girls is what we would call in the west a battered women..unfortunately in some of this culture its just seen as normal! There was one point when we sat in the pool relaxing and playing some music. Without sounding over spiritual I felt like the atmosphere suddenly changed as a worship song played that spoke about God extending his hand out in love and included a form of prayer..of crying out to God and surrendering your heart to him. I was really touched to see this battered women (at least attempting) to sing along to the song with more sincerity than I have ever seen in her eyes! I saw a glimmer of understanding that God loved her and hope for the first time..definately something only God could have done!
But apart from the spiritual side of things we also did a girly dressing up night which was so much fun and was amazing to see the girls look at their selves in the mirror in almost disbelief that they could look so beautiful! A far cry from the dirt and ragged clothes they once wore in the streets! In one girls words..she said “is that really me?” she also later said that it was her favourite time of the holiday as she felt like she found the other her!
The Bolivian family who came were also a HUGE blessing and it was a very conscious decision to invite them as I wanted the girls to see what a real (Bolivian) family was , a man who didnt beat his wife and who helped look after his kids. A couple who showed affection and children very secure in the love of their parents. It was incredibly encouraging to see the girls secretly tapping each other to show the others how affectionate the couple were being..or just how..normal they were! A definate connection was made and the girls asked for the number of the mother as they were so touched by her input in their lives and they would like to spend more time with her! I was so encouraged by that as most of you will know my desire is to see Bolivians impacting Bolivians, as they will be the ones who stay behind…not the foreigners and who can impact a Bolivian more than his own people!?
Over all it was a great long weekend and I am so grateful for the opportunity to get to know these girls, and their children alot more. I believe God has begun a work in them that he will be faithful to complete and I am more than happy to be a part of that process! Alot more needs were revealed and I look forward to hopefully brnging someone here who would be comfortable to advice these girls…and others like them on parenting skills..as I feel this is really the only way to stop the generational curse of street kids raising more street kids!
Saying goodbye after 3 days togoether was hard to do and I miss them already..even my personal alarm clock (my Godson Miguel) who personally came to my room every morning to wake me up (just imagine an asending voice alarm clock thats starts as a whisper and developes into a full blown banging on the door Senorita WAKE UP!!!)
I also cant not thank enough every person who gave towards this event, your money has literally had an effect on the prevention of creating more street kids! And personally impacted 14 precious lives!
Please pray that the work started will continue to grow and these precious lives will continue to change!
Until next time blogging pals….
p.s if you were still planning to give to this event, it´s not too late as I had to usea considerbale amount of my own funds to cover costs..so just let me know!
