Samuel's Adventures: Meet a student: Miguel

Name: Miguel Angel Hernandez Acosto

Age: 6 years old

Arrival: First started coming to CICS in May of 2013

Teacher: Melody Eash

Miguel is a ~~typical~~ very mischievous little 6 year old with seemingly boundless energy. He is one of those kids that you need to watch constantly or he'll get in trouble. However, his broad smile and sly grin, combined with his obvious need for someone to give him love and attention, makes it all worth it! Sure he can be bad and cause many problems, but if we can be of help to guide him towards a relationship with Jesus Christ, what does it matter the costs here on earth?

We don't know much about Miguel's early life, but we do know he was born into a family that rejected him. His mother left him when he was young, upon which his aunt took upon herself the responsibility to care for him. His aunt had another child by birth, who is essentially a younger brother to Miguel, although not by blood. This is pretty much the extent of his family--his birth mom, as far as we know, has no contact with him whatsoever. He probably wouldn't even recognize her on sight. The place where Miguel lives with his aunt isn't what you would call an ideal home. The house is next door to a little comedor (restaurant) where lots of men come to eat and drink beer. Somehow Miguel developed a taste for the vile stuff and he has told us already that it's his favorite! He has come to school already acting a bit woozy, most likely from an alcohol hangover. With a childhood like this, it is no wonder Miguel sometimes struggles respecting authority and getting along with the other children!

Miguel started school here at CICS in May of 2013. A (then) 5 year old little boy, he had been coming to CICS barely two weeks before he had to have a punishment. The following story about that incident was written by Matthias Beachy for his blog: matheyeus.wordpress.com. Used by permission.

It was right after devotions. Kevin told me that Miguel had flipped him off. I told Miguel to come. He knew I wanted him to come. So he nicely kept his distance. I didn't want to chase him, but…

He walked right into Wesley. Got him. We went to my room. Think he was already screaming at this point. I told him that flipping people off was illegal. A no no. I decided for his punishment I would hit his hand twice with a stick I had. When he saw the stick he yelled and yelled. I made him stand in one little square in my room. He wanted to move around. He cried. Yelled.

Refused to give his hand. Clasped it tightly behind him. I made the signs numerous times that flipping people off, illegal, a no no. Asked for his hand. Told him two whacks. Nothing doing.

I gave him a whack on the behind. Telling him to give me his hand. He yelled. Cried. But refused. He knew what I wanted. He kept trying to back up against the wall. I pulled him back to his square. He was trying to see what he could get away with.

He even tried saying he was sorry. That bout got me. But he really wasn't sorry cause he refused to let me whack his hand.

Several more, giving him the option of giving me his hand. Not happening. Whacks on the behind. More yelling. Refusal. Repeat. Repeat. He yelled and yelled. He was furious.
I decided I had spanked him enough. Now I would wait. Waited. Made sure he stayed in his square. We are talking like a half hour or so by now. I needed to go meet Flavio in town, but decided it was more important to finish this and explain to Flavio that I had to take care of some things before coming.

Miguel was getting tired. He was still yelling and crying. I kept asking for his hand. He tried to sit down. Tried to go lie down on his bed. I held him for a bit. He wanted to leave. I put him in his square. He flopped to the floor. I was about at the end. What do you do? Then, he quit. He held out his hand. Was pretty amazing. He let me whack it twice.

He told me sorry. I gave him a hug and went with him to tell Kevin sorry. Then I left to meet Flavio.

You would think the kid would hate me after that. So mean. Me spanking him. Forcing him to come to the decision to let me whack his hand. But no, when I got back, he liked me more than ever. Felt like the structure and discipline given him was what he needed. Like he respected me cause I didn't allow him to control me.

Fast forward another day. So Miguel comes into my room and sees the stick I used to punish him. He looks at it. Picks it up. Whacks his hand with it. Looks at me and says, "don't flip people off".

Miguel has learned a lot since that incident, however, he still needs frequent reminders about different conduct issues. But when he is in a good mood, he is a joy to be around. He likes to show off make other people laugh. He achieves his goal quite often with his outlandish facial expressions and toothless grin. :) We try not to laugh at him too much, but sometimes it's a little hard to restrain our laughter.

Since he lives so far away, Miguel stays here at CICS all week, until the weekend, when he goes home to be with his aunt. He is fairly young yet, so he doesn't have a lot of responsibilities, but he helps feed the various animals and helps with dishes fairly frequently. Doing the dishes with him, means you'll probably have some water splashed around at some point. He also helps Elmer, his dorm dad, with any other work that he can do. Miguel likes to tag along after anyone who will let him. In the afternoon, one of his favorite pastimes is riding bike. It's quite amusing to see this small, skinny kid, with pants not reaching down to his ankles, riding this bicycle about as tall as he is. :)

Pray for Miguel this week as you think about him. Pray that he could grow up to know Jesus as his personal Savior. Pray that he could be an example to others who look up to him when he grows up. Pray for his teacher, Melody, and his dorm dad, Elmer, as they try to teach him practical things and also about God. Pray that he could use his difficult early life as a platform to demonstrate God's power of healing and restoration. Pray for Miguel...

I hope you enjoyed this special blog post! I would be interested to know if you would like to hear about the rest of the students in this way. My contact information is on the right if you would like to correspond. God bless y'all for your support to this ministry!