Yesterday, we went to an orphanage.  I think I can honestly say that each of our team members was greatly touched by our time there.  We saw so many precious kiddos. Not just young ones. There were several older kids and even teenagers.  We brought along several things to entertain them and try to connect and love on them. Sometimes connecting was easy.  Some little ones just wanted to be held and quickly ended up in the arms of our teens. There were even a couple who fell asleep in those loving arms.  

We used what we brought to engage them.  Bubbles, balloons, balls, frisbee, and a jump rope.  The kids enjoyed these items and moved from place to place checking them all out.  The boys taught them the proper way to throw a frisbee and played ball. The kids loved the balloons and were soon filling them with water or making crazy squeaky noises with them.  Towards the end, we pulled out some sidewalk chalk and it was so much fun to see the kids drawing pictures on the concrete. Their creativity and imagination were amazing.

At one point we were singing to a couple of the little ones and the teacher came over and joined in with us.  It was clear she loved music and the children.

There were some older girls there and I desperately wanted to reach out to them.  My efforts didn’t go very far. I tried music, dancing, and fingernail polish. With the language barrier, I felt at a loss for how to connect to these precious girls.  I was trying to make something happen in my own power. Then I realized only God could make a difference in their lives and I began to pray.

I took a seat and started praying for them as a group and individually as they played around me.  

My heart was open to these kiddos and I got just a glimpse of how precious they are to God.   I have always had a heart for adoption and as I looked around I realized what I wanted most for these children was for them to be adopted. Not just into an earthly family but into the family of God.  I wanted to see these precious faces in Heaven. I wanted them to know the hope and peace that comes only from God. So I continued to pray for salvation and the plans that I know God already has in place for them.  I left with pictures and I will continue to pray because I know that God has a plan for each of those young lives. I have no doubt that I will be seeing some of them again, in Heaven.