This is Bayron... this last week the Lord really used him to stretch me beyond myself. It's difficult to put his story to words, but I'll try, because this little boy has changed me. Bayron is around 13, but functions at the level of about a 2 year old. He can't care for himself and his vocabulary consists of about 3 words, so he can't communicate to others what he's thinking, feeling or what he needs. He's been at Emmanuel for a number of years now, but for the majority of his life he was treated like a dog by his family. I'm sure he was born with a mental disability, but I believe the harm done by his family is what has really paralyzed him... he spends his days sitting... just sitting, he doesn't play or interact with the other children, and his eyes speak his sadness where his voice can't... my heart breaks for him.  

One of my jobs here is to give the boys medicine at breakfast and dinner. Bayron is one of the boys that I have consistently given medicine to twice a day... to be honest, I didn't enjoy it when it came time to give Bayron his medicine. He has had a severe cold since I've been here, so there is always snot dripping down his face, he smells because he often uses the bathroom in his pants, and he puts up a fight whenever I attempt to give him his medicine... not an ideal situation for someone who doesn't do the whole nurse thing real well.  But, last week Bayron came to stay at the clinic because his cold and cough had gotten much worse, and he had stopped eating. Clinic duty is 24 hours a day and the responsibility of the volunteers... to put it nicely, clinic duty is not my cup of tea.  And, with Bayron... there had to be two of us there at all times because he's quite a handful... Kaley and I managed to be in the clinic for 95% of his stinky, and I mean very stinky, diapers. On Tuesday of last week we managed to change 4 diapers, sets of sheets, and clothing and give 4 showers in 3 hours. To say we were tired is beyond an understatement. In the beginning of that morning, it was all I could do to not throw up... changing diapers has been something I've managed to avoid for the majority of my babysitting career, so changing the very dirty diaper of a 13 year old was a bit out of my comfort zone. But, by the end of the morning and definitely by the end of the week, I would give him a shower and change him with a glad heart because wanting him to be comfortable and know that he was cared for exceeded my wanting to dry and poop-free. Bayron's eyes changed the week he was in the clinic... and so did my heart. Now, his eyes have a light in them, and we get a smile out of him every now and then. The Lord taught me to care for someone that my flesh had no desire to even see. He taught me to love what I would have preferred to run from. He showed me myself in Bayron and how without Him I am totally helpless. He showed me Himself in Bayron and how in even the saddest situations He gives hope. Bayron is back in the house with the boys, and I now give him 4 kinds of medicine each day... I see in his eyes that he knows me, and it's no longer a fight to get him to take his medicine... and, it's the highlight of my day to see his beautiful eyes look into mine, and well, if I get a smile that day, then it's just icing on the cake.