The alarm went off at 2:30 a.m. We packed over the preceding days and had all the morning last minute “grab and go’s” set and ready. I did one last check to ensure the passports remained tucked in the pocket where I always keep them for easy access. They were there, and it was time to go.
My friend Fawn Brents, talked to me about Casa de mi Padre (My Father’s House) for several years. She even wrote a book about it that I keep in my conference room. After hearing her rave about this wonderful children’s home/orphanage in the mountains of Guatemala, I decided I wanted to go. When I told her she said, great, let’s plan it. Over the next weeks, I discussed with my husband my desire to go, and he decided we should all go as a family. It turned out to be one of the best decisions we’ve made.
Like any person going on a mission trip, I wanted to do good for others. During my time there, I experienced blessing far greater than I could ever have given to any of the children there. I’m not sure what I expected. I knew going into the trip that a gentleman named Shane Sanderson, from St. Joseph, Missouri opened Casa de mi Padre in 2010 and that my friend Fawn thought it exceptional. I also knew that people can’t adopt Guatemalan children because in years past, because of the extreme poverty, women sold their babies; so because of this, when children came to Casa de mi Padre, they came to stay. I suppose I thought it would be a place full of broken children with meager resources and exhausted, detached workers. That couldn’t be further from the reality of Casa de mi Padre.
I found happy, healthy, fun, clean, well fed, obedient, kind, loving and affectionate children. This boggled my mind. Because of my years as a Family Court Prosecutor, I saw the worst of the worst when it came to child abuse and neglect. I’ve seen first-hand the effect child abuse has on kids. The scars are deep and life altering. How can the children at Casa de mi Padre be so different?
I always look at places that claim they help children with great skepticism, and honestly, I approached Casa de mi Padre with the same critical eye. Poor Shane had to endure my 6-hour interrogation during our drive from the airport through the chaos of Guatemalan rush hour traffic and then through the hairpin turns through the mountains (I’ve included some photos) to Casa de mi Padre. He answered each question with great patience with the level of detail I desired. Sorry Shane!
Children come to Casa de mi Padre through the court system, just like how they enter foster care in the U.S. They don’t come the way I found them upon my arrival at Casa de mi Padre. They come broken, found in trash cans, sold into slavery and sleeping under a picnic table, beaten, burned, starved, used, abandoned… I could go on. Normally these stories would devastate my soul. Strangely, they didn’t. Not because what happened to these children isn’t tragic, rather what happened to them after is a miracle. They were scooped up out of the pit of despair and brought to a beautiful loving home, surrounded by safe people who love and care for them. All their needs are met, for shelter, safety, food, rest, fun, education, life skills, structure and most of all love. They were safe, loved, valued.
I thought I’d want to take them home with me. While this crossed my mind especially with a little boy named Crispin (see photo) who just wanted to be held tight every moment I was with him. I knew that taking them meant they would leave Casa de mi Padre. A place where they had 22 brothers and sisters playmates, a school that tailored learning to their special needs and Guatemalan house parents who were giving their lives to love and care for these amazing children. The children love it there, so it was easy to leave knowing they were safe and loved in their own country.
My takeaways from this trip:
- There is healing beyond brokenness. Love is the answer. Love has hands, feet and time. Love comes in the form of people, and in my opinion God, which I observed in a very real way.
- Teenagers need to see life outside their circumstances. We took our two teenagers on this trip and it impacted them deeply. It gave them perspective into their own situation, how blessed they are and demonstrated how they can overcome adversity.
- “Do for one what you wish you could do for many.” My mom always said this to me. There are hundreds of thousands of charities out there. Some good, some downright terrible. My family has chosen Casa de mi Padre as our “one.” If we spread out our time and money to several worthy causes, our impact on each will be small like pebbles thrown into a pond. We want to make a big splash, so we are throwing a big rock into Casa de mi Padre to make a big impact. We’ve seen the impact it is having on the children there and know our resources will be used for good.
Perhaps your family needs a mission where you can make a big splash. If you have questions about Casa de mi Padre, I’d love to discuss it with you.
