Monday, Special Needs & Pure Hearts

My name is Lexie Myers and I am a 20 year old PTA student. This is my third trip to Elsalvador and I just can’t get enough of the blessings I receive from here. Today we went to 2 special needs orphanages called San Martin and Guirola.

San Martin is a special needs orphanage for adults and Guirola is for children. San Martin is filled with the most wonderful, pure, and innocent adults with the hearts and minds of children. We spent our time dancing with them and painting faces and laughing. We are sent there to make their day a little bit better but they always make me feel more blessed than I did before I came. Something about the smiles on their faces and the purity of their simplicity and innocence gives my heart so much strength.

After we left San Martin we ate lunch at the states diner which is owned by sus hijos, the missionary organization in Elsalvador. Their workers are all teenagers from transition homes. They put them in a program so that they can learn a trade and job dependability for the future. After the diner we went to Guirola, which is the special needs orphanage for children. We played with them until supper time and got to feed the bed bound children.

I was blessed enough to get to feed a special needs toddler, he was completely bed bound and extremely crippled. He had no verbal communication and severe mental deficits. Feeding him is a very big challenge for the workers because he can not sit up, his muscles have spasms, and he has a hard time swallowing.

It was such a heart breaking experience to see such a small child that needs so much medical attention living in a bed in an orphanage because he wasn’t wanted and because his medical expenses would cost to much. Having the opportunity this week to share God’s love and to work through him to help where we can is such a blessing in my life. Starfish and sus hijos spread hope locally and abroad and to be apart of such a selfless group of people is something I will forever cherish.