a day in the life...

I had the opportunity to visit an orphanage today. I had never been to this place. It was a family style orphanage; so, it sort-of just felt like we were in a house (that had a lot of young kids.) The friends I went with visit these kids weekly and, let me tell you, the kids LOVE it! There were plenty of smiles, hugs and laughs during our time there.














My friends had a little "program" planned. First, we introduced ourselves (since I was new) and told the best gift we'd ever received. Some of the kids had simple answers like a barbie. Most of them, however, had deeper answers. Loradona said the best gift was her mom (house mom at the orphanage). Andrea said it was when her birth mom came to visit her. Adi, who is only six years old, said the best gift was coming to live at this orphanage. Then Albert told the story of Joseph and his coat of many colors. However, the kids were so caught up in the story and hungry for more, that he ended up continuing the story much further.

Then Pat shared the story of The Boy that Cried Wolf. He had the kids help him act out the story. So, this version turned out to be the Adi that cried wolf. Adi was quite the impromptu actor!

Joy had some crafts planned for the kids that included drawing spring flowers with crayons and then water-color painting over the waxy crayon pictures. The kids had a blast with the water-colors; they didn't want to stop.

Eunice was a great help in keeping the littlest, Radu, busy while the bigger kids did the craft. I got to hold a cuddly, somewhat sleepy, Radu during the story time. Nothing better than story time with a little one in your lap! Then during the craft time I was able to assist Alexandra. She is at the stage of wanting a little help to make a really beautiful picture, and yet wanting to be independent and do it herself. I realized with helping the kids that my Romanian has definitely improved. I was able to help instruct them with how to best use the water-colors and talk about their pictures with a much larger vocabulary than the last time I did an activity like this with kids.

On the drive home Pat & Joy shared with me the background of three of the kids. They are biological siblings and they have two older siblings who they are now separated from. Their story was heartbreaking to hear, and I only heard a fraction of what they went through. I can't imagine these precious little children living on the streets and suffering from the cold to the point of frost-bite. It's beautiful to see them receiving the love and care they need. Yet, those scars will always remain.

I look forward to going back and visiting these precious little children. Spending time with these children enlarged my understanding of the heart of God. God's love is perfect in every circumstance. Yet, we know from Scripture that caring for the orphans is near the heart of God. His desire for His people to love and care for the needs of those the world often forgets. 

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: 

to look after orphans and widows in their distress 

and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." 

James 1:27