God’s
breathing dreams and fruitfulness into lives! Enrique is a great example, and
his story parallels the lives of many we impact.
Signs
of Love found Enrique when he was 7 years old.
He had no language, and was painstakingly timid. Enrique spent two weeks with us shortly after
meeting him. In those two weeks he opened
up and – because he had no language – acted out the physical abuse he was
receiving from his father. It was
heartbreaking. After the two weeks were
finished, we brought him back to his mud-hut home, and asked his mother about
the abuse. With tears streaming down her
face she sorrowfully admitted to the abuse his father would give him, and she
said, “I don’t do anything about it because he only treats Enrique like
that. I’m afraid if I say something to
him, he’ll start being mean to all five of my children.” That day before we left Enrique in his
home, we encircled him and simply prayed for him. His father was sitting against the wall
glaring at what was happening. The next
month when we picked Enrique up for our monthly ‘language program,’ he jumped
into the van and, with a face bursting with a smile, shared how his father
hadn’t abused him since we last saw him.
His father never again abused him.
Another
time shortly after this, we felt an urging to diverge from our plans and
checkup on Enrique. As we pulled up to
his home, he came running out, and with his rudimentary signs communicated, “My
mother, my mother, she is close to death!”
We went into her home and the other villagers were paying their final
respects to her. She had a severe infection,
and because she didn’t have the $3.00 needed to go to the clinic in the next
town, she went to her village’s witch doctor.
He gave her a vile of special potion (water), and sent her home to die. We showed up just in time. Enrique didn’t have many signs in this early
stage of knowing him. But he did see us
talking to his mother – he saw us use our cellphone and talk to someone – he
saw us leave and come back with a box filled with food and medicine – he saw us
lay hands on his mother and pray for her, which was the same thing we did for
him just a month or so earlier – he saw a doctor show up at his house a few
hours later giving his mother shots and medicine – he saw his mother’s relief
and he saw her get better.
God
showed us this day that He doesn’t need words to speak to people – language
begins with the eyes and communicates directly to the heart. The words just follow. Enrique and his mother continued in our
monthly language programs. Over the
years, Enrique learned Honduran Sign Language.
One
of our volunteers was so impressed by this boy’s story and his desire to learn
that he wrote a children’s book about Enrique.
The title of the book is Enrique Speaks With His Hands. It is sold at Barnes & Noble and many
fine bookstores. During the writing of
this book Enrique’s mother shared with me one day that her prayer for Enrique
was that he would be used in others’ lives like Signs of Love was used in his
life. Little did she know that her son
would be used in countless lives as he was being immortalized in a children’s
book! The day we had the unveiling of
the book when the author got to place a copy of this book in her hands was a
day to be celebrated! God not only
answers prayers but He makes our dreams come true!
Enrique
was always the boy to be pitied in his village.
Now he’s the young man to be honored and respected. He’s been the breadwinner for his family
because of his artisan work with Signs of Love; and because of that job his
mother now has a cement block kitchen instead of a dilapidated one made of
mud. Enrique knows he is loved by God
and that his life has value…great value.
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| Enrique and His Artisan Work |
Remember...love can be heard by all.
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