saving grace

This is Donkey. And I won't lie... he's my favorite.

This is Jessie. And today we helped him obtain his very first ID.

This is TeShayla, Donkey, Rob and Zee. Wednesday night is the highlight of my week as all the little ones come and eat pizza, sing songs, and generally make my heart melt.

Today was such a breath of fresh air after the last few days of constant going and going... and going. The man who I helped apply for disability has 9 children. Today I spent the morning with his youngest son Jessie tracking down all sorts of paperwork and forms for him to be able to apply to a job corp in MS. Jessie has no ID, no SS card, and only obtained his birth certificate last week after we helped him fill out the forms and mail them to Wisconsin where he was born. I have never been so grateful for my mom and dad having kept all our essentials in a safe place. 

These basic necessities that we use so frequently are often lost, never kept, or misplaced in the homes of the children we work with. Things change frequently -- like address, phone number, location... and life seems to be a constant toss up. So today was somewhat of a rat race tracking down his information from the social security office, then the high school he dropped out of, then the dmv, and so on and so forth. But his precious smile made it all worthwhile as he was practically giddy about his new, and only, ID.

I keep smiling at the precious children the Lord is allowing me to minister to because they make everything seem worthwhile. What is not to love about those little faces and bright smiles with gold-capped teeth? I can't think of a thing.