We take comfort for granted. So much so, that unless it's right in front of us, we don't usually imagine scenarios where comforts--even basic comforts--aren't present or available. We only see the flaws in our surroundings, rather than the fact that we have more at our fingertips than the vast majority of the world can even imagine. High speed internet? How about some clean water and TB medicine!
I just got back from a week in Haiti (I know, it was way too short), and it was wonderful. If you can classify revelations that come about by seeing poverty and suffering as wonderful. I've traveled to other countries before, but I've never started planning my next trip back while I'm still on the first trip. The Haitian people are beautiful, the language is beautiful, the food is excellent (and mostly gluten-free!). We did several fun things, such as working at an English camp, checking vitals at a Women's Birthing Center, and visiting an orphanage. What I want to focus on in this post is the orphanage--more specifically, the children at the orphanage.
Have you ever thought about adopting? Many people do, and then immediately brush it off. Too expensive. Too time consuming. Too emotionally demanding. Not right for my family. Not the right time. The list of reasons NOT to adopt can go on and on. However, I believe there are many more reasons TO adopt (at least 13 million of them), and I'd like to introduce you to a few.
This beautiful girl is named Luna. Her smile was big and gorgeous and came instantly when you smiled at her--but her eyes stayed sad most of the time. Until recently, she lived with her aunt, where she was sexually abused by her cousin, his friends, and her uncle. A nurse who examined her at a clinic and discovered signs of the abuse approached her aunt and asked her to allow Luna to stay at the orphanage. The nurse pays Luna's aunt 100 dollars a month to keep Luna there and away from her abusers. She is 12 years old.
This is KiKi. All I know about him is that he came from a background of abuse, and that he rarely smiled while I was there. All day long, both days I visited them, he clung to whoever would hold him, wrapping his legs and arms around the person and laying his head wearily on their chest. He didn't respond to sweet talking or singing or cuddling, except to snuggle his head a little deeper into your chest.
This is Isaac; he is 10 months old. A few months ago, he was so sick they didn't think he would make it. A missionary family who had moved to Haiti only 3 weeks before and already had 2 teen children of their own took him in to nurse him to health. They are hoping to adopt him as soon as the orphanage gets it's adoption license.
Wilby has cerebral palsy. He's been making progress in the past few months, like being able to sit up on his own. Someone who came to the orphanage and fell in love with him sent him a wheel chair, so that's good. I think he's about 5 years old.
Moses, as you can see, is just adorable. The orphanage directors are hoping to adopt him.
The first day I visited the orphanage, Ashley was sullen and silent the entire time, with a continually worried look on her face. The second time we went, the woman who is in the process of adopting her was in our group, and it was then that I saw Ashley light up. She smiled, laughed, and played with her future mom. It will probably be about 2 years before she is able to take Ashley home.
When you are with these children, feeling their faces press against you as they hug any part of you they can touch, watching them light up at simple things like silly bands and jolly ranchers, it's hard to remember all of those reasons not to adopt. The beauty of watching a child experience something we take for granted, like swimming or strumming a guitar, for the very first time is priceless. I can't wait to adopt someday; I can't wait to give some orphaned child(ren) a loving home and a mother and father. Unfortunately, it's not my time right now, so I have to wait. Could it be your time?
"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live." -John 14:18-19
We have not been abandoned. In Christ, we are no longer orphans. Because He lives, we live; because we live, we can give new life to others. As we have been rescued, we can rescue others.
Adoption resources:
www.abbafund.org
www.bethany.org
No comments:
Post a Comment