Another pivotal phone call

Appeal sent. Now we waited. And waited. And waited.

Nothing.

“Tía, when will you visit me? Will you bring me presents? Can you bring me sunglasses? Can you buy me an orange blanket? I love you, Tía. I miss you.”

My bond continued to grow and even deepen with the kids. Neither one let me off the phone without telling me first how much they loved me. We’d come a long way with both of them. Juan David tried his best to demonstrate patience, but I could tell his heart hurt as he wondered why it took so long. Viviana could hardly wait for me to visit. I already packed a suitcase full of clothes and toys she’d asked me to bring her.

However, God, being God, constantly gave me reminders of His sovereignty and His presence in my life. A new little girl joined my second grade bilingual class at school. While talking with her at recess one day, she told me she used to live in Colombia! In fact, her older sister still resided there.

My students come from all over, but the majority of them usually come from Mexico and a maybe a few from Central America (usually El Salvador and sometimes Honduras). Never do they come all the way from South America. Luck didn’t bring the first Colombian student directly to my class. God did that.

My heart latched on to that little Colombian girl immediately. God gave her to me to love, guide, and nurture until I could bring my own little Colombian girl home. I even imagined her and Viviana’s friendship when she arrived later in the year. Wouldn’t it be precious to have two little Colombian girls in the same grade?

My phone calls with Viviana grew longer each week. No matter how many times I told her I needed to go, she would quickly say, “Wait!” Then she thought of something else to tell me or ask me. I even missed out on calling Juan David several times because she kept me on the phone too long. The orphanage maintained a strict calling schedule.

Juan David’s newest request completely surprised me. “Will you call me this Saturday afternoon at 2:00 when I’m at Viviana’s house? I asked for permission for you to call while we are together. My older brother, Julian, will spend the afternoon there, too, and he really wants to meet you.”

“I will try.” The thought of calling at a different time made me nervous, so I couldn’t promise Viviana’s house parent would actually let me talk to them.