Wednesday Orphanage Visit

Today the girls and I went to visit one of four orphanages in the area.  As my friends know I am very passionate about orphaned and abandoned children.  Children are the victims of adult decisions.  It is so sad that children have to grow up without the privilege of having a family to love the and care for them.  Orphanages are sad places.  They generally do the best that they can with what they have but the resources are so few.

I was very worried about our girls and how they would react to going back to an orphanage.  We spent quite a bit of time talking about orphanages before we went.  I told them that we were going to visit and that the three of us all would be going back to our house together and would all eat dinner with Daddy tonight.  Our children know that I work with Grace & Hope for Children and serve orphans in China.  They have seen countless pictures of my trips but when you have lived in an orphanage, going to one can be emotionally difficult.

The orphanage that we visited serves 47 children; 27 girls and 20 boys.  The children range from 18 months to 17 years old.  Four of the children have special needs.  The US President's Fund for AIDs Relief provides medications for the children who need medication.  The director was a very kind hearted, gentle man named Joseph.  I asked what his greatest challenges were and he said food and paying school fees for the older children as primary school is free.  Joseph is raising chickens and cows to try to help the orphanage feed the children.  The excess eggs will be sold to the community to help fund food.

I am so very thankful for the people here who are salt and light in the lives of the children living in orphanages.