Reflections on Serving: Lee and Cindy

The trip to Hogar de Amor in 2017 was our first time traveling to Colima for the week. For two weeks prior to our leaving our lives were turned upside down with serious health issues for my parents, we were not even sure if we’d be able to go until two days prior to us leaving for Colima.

While we were there our lives were so touched by the children and the caregivers we began praying that God would change our hearts, we were very comfortable living the lives we were living. The week there changed the way we saw the world. When we returned home our lives were upended again when the company where I’d worked for over 13 years eliminated my position two days after we returned home. While in Colima our prayer was that God would change our hearts, now we didn’t have a choice, our lives changed. Through out the process of seeking a new position our hearts were still tightly knitted to Hogar de Amor, the children and caregivers, and our plan on going again did not waiver.

This year’s trip was once again a life changing trip, we again saw the depth of love the caregivers gave to the children, how well the children are cared for, and loved, just amazed us. While we’re there we help to relieve some of the burden by doing some jobs on the homes that the caregivers just do not have time for along with caring for the children. We paint, repair items that need repair, help building on building projects, work on needed improvements, and then the most fun, playing with the children. This year we took 90 children plus 24 caregivers to a water park on the last day there. This was a day we’ll not forget, the joy on the children, and caregiver’s faces will forever be etched on our minds. It was nice to see them all together away from the homes enjoying a fun day. This is something I hope will happen regularly in the future.

Our goal is to continue going to Hogar de Amor every year, and in retirement spending longer periods of time there, the children and caregivers truly changed the way we see the world and our place in it. Our encouragement to anybody considering going on this trip would be to “Just Do It”, the time there has changed our lives for the better. We went there to give of ourselves and ended up receiving much more in return.

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” - James 1:27