This week while the four children were in music classes with Darwin, I entered the boys’ room – which sometimes looks more like the aftermath of an intense battle rather than someone’s sleeping quarters – to drop something off. As I passed by their desk on the way out of the room, I noticed two intriguingly familiar, rather worn letters sitting on the desk. I stooped over and noticed the date on the top letter – February 8, 2014, the day after Brayan moved in with us. Through the bleeding blue marker on both of the letters, my handwriting in black pen stood as strong as it was on the day I wrote it so many months ago. I immediately picked up the letters and read them, curious of what I had written to our new son so shortly after he had moved in with us. As my eyes traced the crumpled pages, my heart swelled with memories — the little breakthroughs, the moments of teeth-clenching frustration, the hugs, the wars, bedtime foot massages. Just this morning he volunteered to pray in our in-home Bible study. He has outgrown nearly all of his clothes in these last few months. We pray daily with him that God will form him into a man of justice and mercy, that someday he will be a good father and an honorable husband. So many thoughts and emotions flooded me as I stood with those two letters in my hands, feeling as though I held in my hands two pieces of raw history, long-lost historical documents about almost microscopically small, yet significant, events in God´s Kingdom.

The first was a welcome letter to our family, and the second a celebration for having given his life to Christ. God’s word says that He places the orphans in families, and in the most real sense possible God placed Brayan first in an earthy family and shortly after in the eternal one. The following are the two letters translated verbatim from their original Spanish to English.

February 8, 2014                                                                                                                                                 

Beloved son, Brayan:

I want you to know that you are in a home of peace, joy, discipline, and love. We love you because we have received the love of God and we want to share it with others. Thank you for your affection, patience, and love with Jason, Gleny, and Diana. Jason is very happy to have an older brother, and he really likes you. You have been a very good example for him in the way that you respect others, your desire to serve and help, and the spirit of peace that you have. We are going to be praying for you so that God enters your heart and you give your entire life over to Him so that you become a man of peace, mercy, love, and Truth. We are here to support you, guide you, love you, and be good parents for you. We love you, and in any moment or situation we are available to listen to you, hug you, and encourage you. Welcome to the family, Brayan.

With peace and love,

Jennifer, your mom

February 24, 2014

(Greeting not visible due to water damage)

There are no adequate words to express how happy your dad and I are that the other night you prayed with Uncle Erick and gave your life to Christ. Now we are members of the same eternal family! We have been praying for you since before you moved here so that you would give yourself to the Eternal God. God is faithful to answer the prayers of His people, thus he heard us and saved you. Thank you, Brayan, for working so hard Saturday morning to clean Uncle Erick’s bathroom, and thank you for working so well with Gleny to clean and organize our school. Thank you for all the affection that you give us, and thank you for your good work ethic in school. Your energy and strength are gifts from God, and now we will be praying that you find the way to serve God using that energy and strength that He has given you. We love you so much!

With a big hug,

Mom

 

Below are photos from Brayan´s recent fourteenth birthday party…