Hi friends! On today’s episode of Draw Near to Me, we will be going over the last part of Julie’s faith journey. For those who prefer to read, today’s content is also posted down below. I love all the things that God is doing through Manos de Fe. Julie and Gary’s willingness to follow God’s lead and remain flexible has resulted in a much richer and deeper ministry. What fascinates me is how all those years of hearing “No” from the government culminated into God’s perfect timing. God made a way to help them retain programs and create new opportunities. I asked Julie to share some of the things they are currently doing at Manos de Fe. If you are interested in learning more or supporting this mission, you can go to their website www.manosdefe.org or click the Manos de Fe link found above the share button. Julie, thank you again for sharing your beautiful story. With that, let’s start the last part of her faith journey. Enjoy!
Click here to read to go to Manos de Fe
Once we decided God was telling us to do orphan prevention, we began to work under a new sense of freedom. We could now focus on following God, not the government. Things were going great.
Mabel was our first girl in the orphan prevention program at Manos de Fe. Since she was 18 years old, she was no longer under the care of the Panama government. We learned that she had just delivered her baby in the hospital, and her dad told her not to return home with it. She had no options, so she planned to give it up. Mabel’s baby would be sent to an orphanage.
We met with Mabel and offered her the opportunity to receive help and come stay at the mission instead. Now, with a place to stay and support, her decision changed. Mabel wanted to keep her baby. There was now one less orphaned child.
With a different approach in place, it was time to meet with the Panama government. We wanted to inform them that we were no longer going to try to be an orphanage. As we were in the process of letting go of this part of Manos de Fe, there was another orphanage that was shutting down. It was a high-risk orphanage for young girls that had been abused or were on drugs. They were essentially being detained there. It was almost like a prison for these girls with bars on the building and an armed guard at the front.
The orphanage ran out of money and could no longer operate. Now that it was closing, the government agency asked us to take these girls. In the past, there were numerous occasions where the agency told us they were going to send orphans, but each time they ultimately said no. Therefore, I expected the meeting announcing that we were dropping the orphanage piece to be straightforward. What happened next was unexpected.
At the meeting, I told the government we were no longer an orphanage. Suddenly, they began pleading with us to reconsider and take orphans from the high-risk facility. Even though we wanted to help those children, we were not able to bring them to Manos de Fe based on the government’s rules about age limits.
According to the agency’s restrictions, once children were 18, they could not be co-housed with others. In fact, they were no longer supposed to reside at the orphanage at all. At the time, our orphan prevention program was already underway. Mabel was 18 and living with her baby in the house we made operational. It simply did not work to be an orphanage at this point. It was their rules, not ours.
After years of the agency saying no to us about orphans, the abrupt change in their stance was confusing. After telling the woman at the agency we were unable to take children due to their restrictions, she said, “Hold on, let me make a phone call.” She literally went, made a call, came back a minute later, and said, “I don’t know, that’s OK.” What?
Suddenly all the rules changed. The ball was now in our court. I told them how we functioned and highlighted the places where it did not align with their restrictions, including the fact that we brought mission teams to Manos de Fe. They ended up waiving all the conflicting rules. We were finally able to receive orphans for the first time.
We maintained a good relationship with the agency, remained open to their advice, and welcomed their site visits. Government employees, and even the main child prosecutor in Panama City, came to do tours of Manos de Fe. Many had seen some of the orphans before in other locations. They were in awe of how transformed the girls were at the mission. For the first time, they saw that the girls were now forgiving and loved. They were completely different people. After seeing the impact of the mission, the agency was so enthusiastic that they even asked us to build additional sites.
It was incredible how God moved.
Manos de Fe now has many initiatives that God has been working through. Our number one priority centers around orphans. Our programs include orphan care, prevention, and transition all wrapped together. We try to provide for their needs in many ways. For example, there is a therapist that works onsite to help our girls process their trauma. Many of our girls were victims of abuse, trafficking, violence, and neglect.
Whenever possible, we encourage our girls to go to public school if they are able. We want them to have the most normal life we can give them. When circumstances prevent our orphans, or others, from going to public schools, we provide an on-site school using Panama’s radio school called Instituto Panameno de Educacion Por Radio (IPER). Most of our girls go to either IPER or public schools.
Our IPER program is equipped with everything necessary to help our students thrive. We have two certified teachers and our location at Manos de Fe has been government certified. We also have on site tutoring in math, English, and have computer labs. Our students come to class once a week and have virtual assignments.
IPER is for people 15 or over who have aged out of the school system. It helps those who are either too old to go back to school or those who never went to begin with. Although there is a minimal cost to go to the school, upon completion they receive a diploma similar in value to a high school diploma. This gives them the opportunity to go to university and hopefully break the cycle of poverty through education.
We also try to teach our orphans practical skills. At the mission they learn money management. They are given different opportunities, such as making bracelets to sell, to earn money. They are then taught how to keep an accounting ledger and how to tithe, save, and spend. Once they leave our program and Manos de Fe, they have a little nest egg they cash out. This money can be used to do what is needed, such as paying rent when they move, for them to be self-sufficient as they start off on their own.
We have also continued the family outreach program that began while we were waiting to receive orphans. I love this program. We currently serve 45 families. The pastor of the church, which was launched on-site, acts as the spiritual head of these programs. He does Bible study and devotions with each program and prays for people.
Once a month we go out, via our pastor, to deliver food. It is only meant to supplement their needs in order to avoid creating dependency. We provide staple foods, like rice and beans, and some basic hygiene items. Our goal is to create an open door to show we care, share Christ with them, and love them. There are so many ways in which we try to help the community from prayer, providing a church van for transportation to services, helping children obtain school supplies and uniforms, and aiding with getting prescriptions filled. We want to help however we can.
Manos de Fe also has a farm on-site. It produces food that we give to our orphans and what we use for the family outreach program. What little remains is sold. We have crops that the community eats like corn, beans, plantains, and bananas. We even had prize winning beans this year! We also use the farm as an opportunity for students to learn the skill of farming.
Whatever we have, if it can be used to help other people, educate them, and bring them to Christ, that is what we are there for. These are our active programs now, but we are up for anything God throws our way. We simply want to show Christ’s love in this community.
Over time, Manos de Fe has been blessed to be known throughout Panama. Now when there’s a crisis or a need, we have been asked to provide a safe place for people. From mud slides in the community that occurred during a hurricane, or in the midst of COVID, we were given opportunities to help. When bridges and roads were washed out, cutting off some communities from supplies, we partnered with the mayor of a nearby town, Volcan, and a Latin church from California to help. Together, we organized 2 helicopter airlifts that delivered food and water to those areas.
Ultimately, Gary and I want to show others that they matter and let them know they are loved. We have the joy of not only being an orphanage but also goodwill God ambassadors serving Panama in new ways. We want people to know that we see you and God sees you. That’s kind of all we do.
There is no big, special talent we have. In fact, we have fun doing whatever it is God calls us to do. It could be digging a ditch, buying a mattress for an elderly lady that’s never slept on one before, or sharing Christ with someone. If I am honest, I feel a little guilty when I’m told that what we are doing is great because I am having so much fun. It is almost like we are playing. We are simply doing what we are supposed to do, helping others, serving others, and loving others.
God is so amazing. He is never late. His plans, His love, and His desires for us are so much greater than anything we could ever hope or dream for. I think we can limit ourselves by focusing on what we can do. Sometimes we can even begin to formulate what we think God wants us to do in a ministry, rather than being open to what He is actually doing.
When I’m giving it to God, it is almost like I don’t have to do anything. Everybody’s working hard, but I feel like I am taking the easy road when I hand it over to God. Gary and I are such a small part of this mission. God is doing the work; we just get to sit back and cheer.
God is in every situation; we just have to look for him.
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Click here to read to go to Manos de Fe
Introductory music credits: Music from #Uppbeat:https://uppbeat.io/t/andrey-rossi/seize-the-day License code: UHWKUWNLJDWRWKMT
Let Them Know They Are Loved: Julie's Faith Journey- Part 7