Sometimes in this life you meet people who say few words, yet you can look deep in their eyes and see through to their soul. This happened when we met Adrian. The first day we visited Casa Amor, his face was completely expressionless. Even when all the kids were making silly faces for pictures, he had to force a slightly upturned smile. It's painful to meet someone and the sadness be so palpable. He has the most beautiful eyes, but they are filled with sadness.
Thankfully, Adrian is at a place where he can be loved on and taught how to love because the last few years have been hard on him. He lost his father and his mother has disappeared. It was difficult to get close to Adrian because he didn't participate in the basketball games or foot races, but in true Casa Amor fashion, we bonded over Rainbow Loom bracelets! It's funny to think back to when the fad of the bracelets started (even though they skipped our personal household), and I couldn't help but feel for the families who were forever picking bands up off the floor in their house. After our trip, those Rainbow Loom bracelets represent unity, love and bonding. Thankfully, Adrian joined us to make a few.
Later in the week we discovered Adrian's true passion... dominos!! Adrian enjoyed hours of games at the domino table, and he is all business when it comes to playing the game. He has a methodical way of slapping the domino down as if he is playfully taunting his opponent. He even played for hours with the youngest member of our team. You could see the sadness lift from his eyes for a few fleeting moments.
There are many more days of joy promised for this young man. It was extremely difficult to leave Adrian on our last day at Casa Amor because he had just begun to open up a tiny bit. Being an orphan at the age of fourteen means he is at a particularly critical age. He will be moving on from Casa Amor in a few years and transitioning into adulthood. Our prayer is that Adrian will thrive at Casa Amor with the mommas who shower their children with love and the couple of men in his life will lead by example. We also pray Adrian will grow to know Jesus and know that He has a plan and a purpose in his life. We are praying for the day we will see true JOY in Adrian's eyes! Children like Adrian are why having a skills center/community center is critical in poverty-stricken areas like Brisas. He desperately needs life skills and job skills to not only function in the Dominican, but to THRIVE in his environment.
The local church secured the vacant lot adjacent to the Casa Amor property early last year. No Longer funded the construction of a brick wall around the lot to protect it from squatters. As of now, the lot is sitting unused while decisions are made about the best use of the space. Tentative plans include adding a community center and eating pavilion with playground equipment and a baseball infield. The possibilities for uses of the community center are endless and could include some kind of vocational training for the older children living at Casa Amor who will be moving into adulthood in the next few years. Details about plans for the lot will be shared in the next couple of months, but in the meantime, monthly sponsorships make it financially possible for No Longer to fund construction projects as the needs arise. For more information about monthly and one-time giving, click here.- Tracy
"...and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday."
Isaiah 58:10
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