This past Tuesday we had the privilege of going to visit an orphanage where we will be volunteering once a week. We walked in the door and we were immediately greeted by seventeen girls from age one to about fourteen. Everyone of them had a smile on their face and their eyes lit up when they saw the bags of candy in our hands. These children are beautiful. Why? Because while they may only have one pair of shoes, they are rich with generosity and love. As we were talking with the girls some of them were showing off their handmade bracelets. Jennifer commented that one of them was beautiful and without even thinking about it the little girl took off her bracelet and gave it to Jennifer. She didn't want to take it knowing that for that girl the bracelet was a priceless treasure, but the girl insisted and the director of the orphanage told her to take it. What a gift! And to think of all the bracelets Jennifer has and the truth is she doesn't need another one, but out of the kindness of her heart this little girl gave what little she had to someone she barely knew. We were speechless.
After spending some time upstairs with the girls, we headed downstairs to be with the boys. There are also about seventeen of them. We were hugged and kissed by a bunch of boys dressed like cowboys. They were proud of their cowboy shirts and gladly showed them off. Then we began to talk about all sorts of things and we were suddenly surrounded by a swarm of boys. They asked us all kinds of questions and were thrilled to have us share with them some short phrases in English. Later we played games and it was obvious to us that these kids, though very well behaved, were starving for attention. The two to three women that take care of them do a great job, but there just simply aren't enough adults to go around.
On the ride home we talked about our visit and our amazement of how happy those kids are with what very little they have. We on the other hand tend to take for granted the fact that we have more than one pair of shoes and two parents that cared for us. Yes, we have soooo much. Reflecting about our time there made us even more excited about being with these children once a week. The director of the orphanage spends her days running around and finding donations to pay the bills and feed the children. They live off of donations.
Overall what a humbling we had a humbling experience. Will you join us in praying for the kids of this orphanage?
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