Negra & Jeriel

This week we’ve welcomed a new team of students to the El Callejon Social Work site.  We know we have students again, because Gabriel is back.  Gabriel is one of the boys who lives close by, and when we have teams, we can see him peeking around the corner of the front door, checking out what we’re doing. 

Along with playing with kids like Gabriel, and helping with our various groups and activities, we take the students on home visits to help them experience the lives of the women in a more intimate way.  One of the women we visited yesterday was Negra, who has a new son.  Negra is 27 years old, and has five children – 11, 9, 5, 2 and 3 weeks.

Negra did not want this child.  When she found out she was pregnant, she was furious.  Negra has one of those faces that can look really, really angry – and did she ever!  She marched around the doctor’s office, shaking her head and telling Daisy it wasn’t possible. 

The truth is, it shouldn’t have been.  Negra had had surgery to have her tubes tied some months before.  A pregnancy test was done, coming back Negative.  But, she actually was pregnant at the time.  In His love and mercy, God kept the little one safe.  Three weeks ago, she delivered by Cesarean. 

Pedro, Negra’s ‘husband’, has never had a son.  He’s had several daughters (sadly by several women) but never a son.  Even though we know that’s not how it works, when it looked like Negra was going to have a boy, folks started talking.  Would Pedro accept this child?  Would he reject him, since it couldn’t be his since he only has daughters?

But, again, our God is full of mercy and love!  When he was born, 6 pounds, with a full head of hair, Daisy saw that he had the exact same face as his older sister, Jafresi (age 2).  Instead of rejecting his son, Pedro is proudly telling everyone about him.  For now, this precious little one is named Jeriel, but Negra told us Pedro may want him to be named after him. 

And… the woman who stomped around the doctor’s office now spends her days cuddling her newborn baby.  That may seem like an obvious thing to most of us, but she has not always responded this way with her children.  Her angry face softens, transformed into beauty.  We asked her if she was happy… “Yes, I am happy.” 

We pray for this family, for the lives of each child, for Negra and Pedro.  We know that it’s only been three weeks, and so much in El Callejon changes in an instant, but we praise God for the transformation we are witnessing.  We stand in awe of perfect, tiny ears, silky soft hair, ten fingers and toes, a new life. 

God knows and loves Jeriel, his mom and dad, his sisters and brothers, and has a purpose and plan for his life.  What a blessing, what an honor and privilege, to see our Father at work! 

(PS – we know, we know, you want a picture!  Jeriel was fast asleep on Negra’s lap, so we didn’t want to wake him.  You’ll just have to take our word for it for now… he’s adorable!)