Child of Loveনমুনা

Struggles from the Start

It all began with a strong woman. If ever a woman was a fighter, despite everything she suffered, that would be my mother, Alejandrina Reyes. She was born in Yabonico, a small town in the south of the Dominican Republic. Her mother died when Mamá was just a young girl.

With nowhere else to go, Mamá and her siblings went to live with her father and his new wife. There she was physically abused. At times, her stepmother forced my mother and her sisters to eat like animals, straight from a pot. Her older brother, who lived in the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo, heard about the mistreatment. He became so angry that one day he took my mother to live with him, but he could not care for her by himself.

My mother was forced to live with relatives, always moving to a different place. With so many changes and challenges, she was only able to complete the third grade. She always liked to sing, however. She participated in singing contests, including one on the Dominican Voice television station. She won several awards. She was even compared to the famous Mexican singer LolaBeltrán.

In those years, my mother worked as a maid. She paid the bills by washing, ironing, and cooking for wealthy families. She rented a room in the back of a building on Arturo Logroño Street. There was no private bathroom, so she had to share the facilities with ten other families.

She met my father, a construction worker. He chose his drinking over the nineteen-year-old young woman who was three months pregnant. Without once looking back, he abandoned her and the child she was carrying. My mother’s life had already been very difficult, but now—alone, unemployed and pregnant—it became even more complicated.

I came screaming into this world in 1959 at five in the afternoon in what was then Ciudad Trujillo, now Santo Domingo, at the Julia Molina Maternity Hospital, weighing eight pounds. For as long as I can remember, our life was never easy. We struggled in poverty, lacking even the bare necessities of life. But my mother’s life, and mine, were dramatically changed to one of fullness by one very important fact: we met God!

Father God, I am thankful that You care about all who are needy and suffering. Help me remember how much You love us, no matter what our circumstances. Inspire me to turn to You for help whenever I am in trouble.