Orphanage Experiences-Part Four

Overall, seeing where your children live and breathe is so beneficial. It connects me to them. In some ways, it gives me a glimpse into the heartache and sorrow that have already been a part of their lives. It also shows me that they are being loved. It is hopefully the place where the healing of their hearts began. It reminds me that as much as an orphanage tries, it is not a family and will not be able to replace that one on one, you're my special someone feeling that families should share. It has given me the chance to have a Haitian nanny tell me in the little English that she knows, that she loves me just because I love my son and her country. It has let me serve God by bathing, diapering, hugging, and holding children who may look nothing like me but are still my brothers and sisters because they all carry parts of Him in their DNA. It has made me press on at times when I really wanted to not have the pull of hands eager to braid my hair, when I really wanted to not sit down because I knew my lap would be the landing place for three or four kids, when I really wanted to find an air conditioner and stop sweating. I am so thankful for the experiences I have had in orphanages. I love orphanages because of the resilence you find in their walls, yet I hate them because of the unmet needs they represent. I am always amazed at how faith and hopelessness, how praise and poverty can intersect in such a place.