Orphan Sunday (On Tuesday)

This past Sunday was a special Sunday. It was Orphan Sunday. It is the day when Christians nationally stand for the orphan through awareness , preaching, prayer, outreach, and whatever other means are necessary to spread the word about the plight of the orphan.
 
I got chills as I thought about the thousands of people around the country that were hearing about the plight of children all around the world. I thought about what could happen if everyone who knew about the crisis and heard about it decided to do something. (Did you know that if only 7% of the world's Christians decided to care for one orphan there would be no more orphans??)
 

On Sunday I thought about the children that I have met all around the world that have no one to call their own. I thought about the little bodies that I had hugged, the smiles that I had caused, the laughs that sounded sweet in my ears, and the eyes of the children that were lacking love.

 

So, meet Paloma, Cielo, and Pamela. These three little girls I met about a year and a half ago in an orphanage of more than 800 kids. Think about that. Eight hundred kids. How easy do you think it is for little girls like this to get lost, forgotten, and neglected?

Paloma

I bonded with them the first day that I was there. They latched onto my arms, my legs, my body and wouldn't let me go. I tickled them, laughed with them, and kissed their foreheads. I was the last to get onto the bus to leave because they were holding me back.

The next morning I was walking back up the sidewalk with my team when they ran through everybody and latched onto legs until they were called away again. They had loved my love.





Cielo



I returned to the orphanage a couple of months later, looking for their faces. The twins (Paloma and Cielo) were changed little girls. They were not the joyful little girls that I had met the first time.  In the spring they were friendly, warming, and always laughing. But in the summer they were quiet, timid, and clung to each other. I didn't know what had happened and all I could do was pray that their little hearts would be softened and that God would heal whatever brokenness was causing them pain.



Pamela



During one of our programs with the orphanage I intentionally went over to them to try to get them to laugh and to smile. I danced with groups of girls and tried to pull them in with me but they refused. Eventually I simply sat on the ground and waited… minutes went by and eventually one of the little girls crawled into my lap.  She grabbed my hand and held it for the rest of the time. She began to laugh and talk with her friends. She seemed to be incredulous- why is this white girl holding my hand? But the happiness and the laughter that I saw in her eyes let me know that my hand was all she needed at the moment.

 Something had changed them, something had damaged their little hearts, and it seemed like there was no one there that was sufficiently keeping them safe.

My heart was shattered to the ground as I left them again because I don't know if I will ever see them again. I don't know if they are being protected and cared for. I don't know where they are. I don't know what they are doing. I really have no way of ever knowing again. All I know is that God is holding them in His hands and all I can do is pray. I pray continuously for them. Their picture is on my phone case and every moment that I look at it I remind myself to pray for them. I pray for healing, for a family, for joy, for laughter, for sweet dreams, for happy moments, and for comfort from our Heavenly Father.

 

I tell you their story because there are more than 140 million other children out there that have similar stories. They all too have personalities, laughs, smiles, cries, needs, and wants.

So, what can we do about it?

Advocate. Spread the word about the orphan crisis. Make sure that everyone knows- your neighbor, your family, your hairdresser, your pastor, everyone.

Give. Adoption is not always the answer, nor is everyone called to adopt. But, everyone is called to care for orphans by whatever means necessary. Give money, resources, time, whatever you have to give. There are people that are called to adopt and it won't be easy for them (or cheap) so support them.

Pray. We can not alleviate the orphan crisis on our own. Only our God can do that. Plead on behalf of the fatherless. Pray for specific children, specific needs, and specific solutions. Pray for children that have been adopted and their continuous healing.

Do Not Stop. Continue to care for the orphans of the world until there is not a single child left that is alone.

Have Hope. Children that have been orphaned are not simply God's second thought. He loves them. He is intentional about them. There is HOPE in the plans that he has for them. One day in his kingdom the word 'orphan' will not even exist.

 

In the time that it took you to read this blog post about 6 more children have become orphaned.