A new kind of request

"Caroline do you have another one for me? I finished the last one already. Can I trade it for a new one?"

During my 4 years here in Mexico, I've been asked questions like the above almost daily regarding donation shoes or clothes because they don't like their old ones anymore. These days however, the kids at Casa Hogar Douglas are asking me for something other than clothes - they are asking for BOOKS. The past few months, one 10 year old and one 11 year old boy read Diary of a Wimpy Kid for fun, on their own, in their free time. I believe those particular boys reading is the fruit of me forcing them to read in the afternoons all last year. But now another group of children in the orphanage have started reading on their own. The oldest girls dorm has started asking for fun chapter books to read. They come to my car and ask to trade out their books. Some are finishing a book each day.

If you ask me, God is letting his blessings just rain down on the lives of these children through literacy. I am determined to see more of these children be at grade level. Reading is the key. They can't complete their assignments for any other subject if they can't effectively read and write.

I am so thankful for the abundant resources we've been given over the years. We already have a library at Douglas. We already have a ton of books. We just didn't have any kids interested in reading anything. I think the tide has changed. The "build it and they will come" concept seems to be on full display right before my eyes.

Yesterday, I witnessed an 8 year old boy who has never been to school a day in his life read a Dr. Seuss book. I like to think that I had a small role in his learning to read these past 2 months. Just incredible - doesn't matter who you are - I think God wants the kids at Douglas to read.

And to think.... the spark that set this all rolling was a 4 year old boy 16 months ago who fell in love with Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?

Pray their love for reading grows and matures. Pray that more of the girls would start reading for fun. Pray that a miracle would happen in the oldest boys dorm and that even one boy would desire to read. Pray for more titles to be available in spanish. The boys want more of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series but only 5 of the 8 books are translated in spanish. The Nate series would be great for a ton of the boys but it's not available in spanish. Pray we'd find something to spark their interest. Pray for God to be glorified as their knowledge grows.