Isaac the little angel

An update on Isaac and a cute story about him. Isaac arrived at the casa 2 weeks after I got here in June. He was very thin, malnourished, never smiled nor talked, was very weak and walked very slowly. He threw up after every meal for several weeks until the medicine began to take effect and his body became used to having nourishment he had not received in the past. After his grandmother and brother visited the first time he really changed for the positive and began to talk and play with the other kids. Once he could keep his food down he began eating like a horse and gained weight. He also gained strength and started playing soccer and other physical activities with the kids. Now he is about the happiest child in the casa, always smiling and he has such a wonderful personality. I do not think he has ever been disciplined because he always obeys the rules and never hits the other kids, which is a daily problem with all of them. The other kids call him the blow fish because he has big round cheeks now where you used to be able to see his jaw bones. He learned to ride the bicycle very rapidly and this photo was taken the day after he rode it without the training wheels for the first time.
Isaac went to church with me two weeks ago as a reward for always being so good and he really enjoyed it so I took him again this weekend. His grandmother had come for a visit last weekend and gave him 10 Lempiras (about 50 cents) to buy little bags of chips that cost 2 Lempiras at the various stores in our neighborhood. When he bought the chips he would usually share them with the other kids. While getting dressed for church on Saturday night, he took out 1 Lempira and gave it to me to hold for him and he said this is for the offering at the church. When they came by with the bag for the collection he was so happy to put his 1 Lempira into it and I was so proud to see this wonderful little boy doing this. It immediately reminded me of the parable of the poor widow, Mark 12:41-44: Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything - all she had to live on." That is just what I was so fortunate to witness Isaac do on Saturday. Little acts like this really help keep me motivated to keep working with the kids.