Dreaming With the Hernandez Family

Some of you might remember that day (September 29, 2004) when the five Hernandez children (Reina, Jorge, Julio, Wendy, Jimmy) were brought to us from their village by Social Services. Their first housemothers were Katie, Annabel, and Jenny. They were ours before we started the children’s home. They are still ours, seven years later, except that now we have a few more of the Hernandez clan: Sallie, Tatiana, and Genesis. And years earlier I had already brought home their cousins Mari and Noe. Mari, Noe and Wendy have the same mother, Rita, and the rest of the children belong to Mari’s mother’s sister, Margarita. Margarita and Rita have 15 siblings themselves! Are you confused yet? When we have visiting day, the Hernandez family takes up about 20% of the space, and it is obvious that they love being together.

The original five children had been left in the care of family members while Margarita came to Tegucigalpa to work to support them. She is a sweet, hardworking mom and loves her children. She didn’t know they were being abused, and is one parent who is thankful for the support we have given her family. She spends as much time with the children as she possibly can.

Because of health issues, Jorge (now 17) went to live with his mom a couple of years ago. He needed to be near the hospital, and his mom was eager to help. This year Reina turned 18, and she elected to live with her mom as well. It’s possible that Julio will join them this year. He’s 14 and in middle school, which is also in Tegucigalpa, and since his mother is enthusiastic about getting her children back together, we are hoping that the children’s court will give permission for him to join Reina and Jorge. LAMB will continue to help with education expenses.

Reina is spending a couple of days with my family. I asked her to help us get our house resettled after the Big Roof Project. Naturally I asked her how everything is going. She is in high school (a weekend distance program), and she was taking care of a baby, but apparently that job dried up. She also had a boyfriend, but has decided to cut that off (yeah!). She began to talk about the future in hopeful, cheerful language:

“My mom is going to help me get a job as a waitress while I finish school. Our dream is for Jorge to work and me, too, and my mom, too, and then we’re going to buy a house.”

Even with three salaries, given the pay scales in Honduras, buying any kind of house at all is a truly lofty dream. I wasn’t really thinking about that part, though. I was considering how improbable it was a few years ago that Jorge and Reina would be so far along in their studies, that they would be living harmoniously with their mom, making plans together as a family. Until her children were taken in by “God’s Littlest Lambs,” Margarita moved from job to job, and her children were shuffled among family members. However, Margarita has had the same job now for several years, and is dreaming big dreams with her kids.

If you were to ask any of the older Hernandez family members what has made the difference for them, I feel certain they would say, “our faith in Jesus.” The children have become baptized, committed Christians, and last year Margarita joined them in God’s Family. The love of Jesus Christ has brought peace and hope to the Hernandez Family. They are leaving the past behind, and they are dreaming of a future in which they are together under one roof.

God’s redemptive work is always beautiful, especially when it is as simple as bringing a family together again after enduring desperate poverty, abuse and separation. When I heard Reina’s dream, I decided to make it my dream for the Hernandez Family, too: “Lord, You can do anything, and because of that, we can dream big dreams. I pray that You would provide a home for the Hernandez Family, a home with a big dining room table so that they can break bread together in Your Name, laughing and enjoying just being together. Thank you for redeeming the years of pain and separation. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”