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Yajaira. Precious. Clear as the day. Dignified. Princess. Jewel. Beloved.  A beautiful name for a beautiful daughter of God. Yajaira lives in the center of the dump with her father and young mother. I have had the joy of watching Yajaira grow both in her mothers womb and in her first year of life, sometimes from afar. Yajaira and her mom are two people that God has really broken my heart for and has shown me through them His deep deep love for His children.  This past August, I was able to celebrate Yajaira’s first birthday with her! What a joy to see her mom, Marta, so happy and filled with joy and love for her daughter.  The last visit we made to the dump I broke off from the group and went to visit Marta and Yajaira in their home. Marta and I chatted like old times as I held Yajaira in my arms. Yajaira practiced walking to her mom and I on the couch, and I thought to myself, I wish she was able to walk. I desired to be there when she took her first steps. But her little legs were just not nearly as strong as they need to be.  But then, questions raced in my head. Where will she learn how to walk? She lives in the center of the dump. There’s glass, metals, bacteria, dirt, and so many other things that could hurt her all around. Will she learn how to walk in her tiny dirt floored home? What happens when she starts to walk and ventures outside of her tiny home into the piles of trash? How will she not get hurt? Will someone be watching her 24/7 to make sure she doesn’t fall, to make sure the big garbage trucks don’t get near her, to make sure she isn’t stepping on anything that could cut or hurt her? My wish for her to walk was no longer a wish but a fear. I wanted to keep her as a baby, protected in her mother’s arms. My heart broke as I thought about all the things that could hurt her, but I was reminded of something that God showed me as I was praying for her when she was a month old. { http://www.purejoymissions.org/blog/a-letter-to-yajaira } “But I have hope, Yajaira. Today as I was praying for you, I prayed that God would put a protective shield around you. I prayed that as people come encounter with you, they would know you are different, they would know you are blessed. I prayed that in the midst of disease and hatred, you would be safe and loved. We serve an amazing God. Sometimes it is hard to see that when we are looking at a garbage dump. But I know that God is working in the hearts of His children there. I have seen his provision. He is protecting them, because they are HIS CHILDREN. He loves them, more than I could even imagine. And as difficult as this life may be, it does not compare to the eternity that God is preparing for us where there will be no sorrow and no pain. I believe and declare that as Yajaira leaves her mother’s arms, she will be safe because she is in the arms of her Heavenly Father.  I praise God for the opportunity to love this family. -Kathy
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We need your help!! We are in need of laptops for our Project VALOR tutoring program next year. If you know of anyone who would be willing to donate new or used laptops, please share! We will have over 20 middle school students in the program next year, and we only have two working laptops. The students need computers to do many of their homework assignments. We are hoping to have the laptops by December so we they can have them for next school year. Click on the button below if you would like to financially help us buy laptops. Thank you!! Please share with your friends!
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