Faith Works

Our lives begin with a miracle and as children we see the miraculous in almost everything we experience. However, as we grow older it seems our eyes and minds focus more on logic and reason than on what God accomplishes daily in our lives. For those of us at Casa Aleluya, surrounded daily by hundreds of children, we are continually blessed by God’s miracles in our lives and are reminded time and again of His magnificence.

One such reminder occurred one lazy Saturday afternoon this last September. Our little JonJon, born without a thyroid and suffering from Spinabifida Oculta with some spinal fusion, was thought to be dead. As the baby dorm parent, Nedelia, ran toward Wendy, our medical director, with JonJon in her arms she repeatedly screamed ‘JonJon is dead’ and then literally threw him at Wendy. Though he was blue and cold, he was not stiff and so Wendy immediately began CPR. As Wendy stood on the soccer field working to resuscitate JonJon, they were surrounded by a crowd of adults and children, both Guatemalan and American all praying and crying out to God. “In Jesus’ name you may not have this child, Satan; give him back!”

And so he did. JonJon responded, within minutes, to CPR and began to breathe on his own. On the thirty minute race to the hospital, his breathing was sporadic as he struggled to take in air. Five minutes before arriving there, his heart rate returned to normal as did his breathing. When the doctors examined JonJon, they could find nothing wrong with him. Everything was normal — no aftereffects from having been without oxygen or proper circulation for an extended length of time.

JonJon, though still dealing with congenital problems, continues to grow and mature. He is walking and becoming more and more assured of himself each day. His is merely one of our many miracle stories. And we believe that we will continue to be blessed with miracles as the love of God is poured out upon this place.