Elizabeth's Home - 14 people live in this one room

Idias  is a little boy who is 7 years old who I begged to stay at the house of hope this summer because he already had two older brothers on the street and I was scared he was going to go soon.  Well he is living at the house of hope now and last week I ask him to take me to his house to meet his mom. She lives in a one bedroom house that's probably 10 by 10, no electricity or running water, 2 beds one with no mattress, no bathroom , a open well outside with dirty water. She lives in this one room with around 14 people. I went in and she gets out the only chair their family owns. She tells me to sit down in it. All the children are outside playing soccer I fight my biggest fear and let Grace sit on the dirty floor with chickens running around and play with her 2 year old son. She begins to talk to me and then goes over to her children's school books and dig through them to find her hidden family pictures. She keeps them here so that they are not lost or stolen. I noticed that she did not have any pictures of her whole family (she is a single mom of 9 kids) so I told her that I would come another day and take a picture of her whole family. We left and a few days later I ask her son to take me back to her house. We go and again first thing she does is say something to her daughter in Miskito and next thing I know she brings out the chair for me. Then she again says something and her daughter brings out a play purse full of jewelry. She tells me to pick something out of the bag to have so I picked out a necklace and she says oh but you need earring so I picked out some earrings and then she says oh and you need a bracelet so she gives me a bracelet. The whole time I am says that's good this is plenty but then I was reminded that this is the nicest thing she has to give this means so much to her that she could give this to me as a gift so I gratefully accept the jewelry. I take a picture of her family and they are all so excited to see themselves on the camera. This family is the poorest of the poor. When I talk with Elizabeth I am reminded how much better it is to give than receive. She gave to me even though she does not have much to give or food to feed her family. She was still willing to give. This Christmas I pray that we all find some way to give like Elizabeth!

Elizabeth and some of her kids

The Waits family ( a missionary family in Puerto Lempira) with Elizabeth's Kids

Legos of Love for Christmas