Mother’s Day at Casa Bernabé
As we honored the mothers of Casa Bernabé this week, we asked Sara Salguero to share what their lives and roles are really like:
"Many people consider being a mother the hardest and most important job in the world. Even in ideal circumstances, mothering requires everything you have and makes you rely on God for strength and wisdom beyond your own. But being a mother to kids who have experienced more trauma in their short lives than any one person ever should is so much bigger and so much harder.
"At Casa Bernabé our kids often have broken ideas of what a mother should be. Some of them have even experienced abuse or neglect at the hands of their mothers. For others, they have never known a mother’s love, a mother’s touch. And still others were deeply loved by their mothers, but life circumstances and the brokenness of this world stole them away.
"Imagine having children from every one of those situations under your roof in addition to your biological children. It's not an easy balance to strike. Our moms must choose love not just as a feeling, but as an action.
They choose love when they are being made into the enemy, when the child rejects their love and affection. They choose love when they are picking lice and lice eggs out of the hair of a new child. They choose love when they have to set various alarms throughout the day and night to make sure the correct medications are administered at the right time. They choose love when they are being called names or being screamed at when one of our children has an outburst.
"They choose love when they sit every afternoon going over homework for 10 different children and sometimes even 10 different grade levels. They choose love when they wake up in the night with children who have nightmares, get sick, or sleepwalk. They choose love when they sacrifice weekends off, date nights, or special family activities so they can be present for their kids at Casa Bernabé.
Our house moms choose to love even when its hard and even when they aren’t loved back. They fight for the kids God has placed in their care. They work to give them the very best life they can for the time they have with them, and then they swallow their tears when they have to say goodbye because it’s time for the kids to go back to their biological families. Our moms choose this love even when it's inconvenient or uncomfortable or challenging. They choose it over and over and over again for each child who passes through their homes.
"And they never complain. They never say no. They never give up. They keep fighting and pressing on even when it would be easier to walk away. They are truly Mothers to the Motherless, sent to be God’s hands and feet in the lives of those most in need."
So this week as we celebrated Mother's Day, the men and children of Casa Bernabé gave thanks for the amazing women in their lives. We honored all the women on campus who mother, in whatever way they're called to–our house moms, our teachers, our house helpers, our support staff, our cooks, our medical staff, our psychologists, our cleaning staff.
As you enjoy these photos and stories from the last few Mother's Days at Casa Bernabé, please join us in thanking God for providing so many loving mothers for our children, against all odds.
In the weeks leading up to Mother's Day each year, all the men on campus meet to decide how to celebrate and honor the women. It's become a tradition to try to outdo themselves from the previous year, and the meetings can become quite passionate as they share their ideas and campaign for which plan they support.
This year they sent all the women to Antigua for the day. They could choose between hanging out at a hotel for the day with a pool, sauna, and jacuzzi, or going on an adventure with a bike zip line and other activities. It was a fun, relaxing day with lots of good food, games, and prizes.
The last few years have all been themed parties. A few years ago it was an 80’s party with retro video games and decorations with an 80’s “show/movie” presented and performed by the men.
Another year was a choose your favorite movie character theme where they all dressed like different superheroes and movie characters. They turned the upstairs church area into a party room with a red carpet, karaoke, games, and prizes.
Another year was a back to school night where they all dressed in school uniforms and played elementary recess games.
And another year the men sent all the women to Cayalá, an upscale shopping area in the city, for the day while they turned the entire main building into a movie theater. When everyone returned from Cayalá they were ushered into the box office to choose their movie and snacks. The photos really don't do it justice, but what the men pulled off in a few hours was amazing. The building was unrecognizable, and it really felt like a movie theater.
Celebrating is a huge party of Guatemalan culture, and the men and kids go to great lengths to let all the mothers in their lives know how special they are to them. And don't worry, Father's Day is coming soon, and something of a rivalry has grown between the men and women on campus to see who can celebrate each other more elaborately, so stay tuned in a few weeks!