Misunderstood

Friday July 5, 2013

Misunderstood. That is what most of these kids are. There are a few who at first glance you may think are mean spirited. But look at their situation, look at how they are living and give them a break. They always want to hold something because that means that they have something of their own, but there is hardly enough to go around. We fed them these little buddy fruits, the fruit in the pouches yesterday and they swarmed us, and devoured them and were begging for more… for the kids in our country these could be an everyday snack and for the kids in the orphanage it is very rare. They take each other’s toys because there is not always enough to play with. There is this one little girl we call her Mia. And at first I just thought she was mean, she would bite and hit and scream and push. But as the days are flying by I see that maybe she is just misunderstood. She is trying to be heard, trying to show what she wants but since she can’t talk, and she is about 7 years old. I have seen her clap and encourage a little girl using a walker we brought today. I think she is a sweet girl, it may just take a little more patience and guidance to bring the best out of her.



 We have spent the past two mornings with the bigger kids outside, and today we celebrated the 4^th of July with red white and blue bubbles, and we played a Chinese game where you sing in the middle and then run around the circle and put the handkerchief by someone else who then in turn tries to catch you and then if they cant sings in the middle. We also did crafts, and used A TON of stickers. They were everywhere on faces, paper, the floor. The kids had a blast and it was more structured so they were using their motor skills. Teaching kids to blow bubbles is not as easy as it seems. Some of the kids who are more with it knew just what to do, and we let them have their own. But some of the others…… one could not get the concept of blowing gently, he just spit everywhere! A few others would not blow enough and got sad when the bubbles would not come. So we had to blow the bubbles and hold it for them to blow them and this went on for a good hour and a half.



The second half of the day we spent with the sweet babies. I picked up Jenny my sweet, happy girl from her crib and played with her for a while. Then I went and got Emerson a baby girl with a cleft lip and cleft palate from her crib and fed her. “I named her Emerson today”. She is so happy and loves to move around. I dressed her up in this cute little cherry outfit with a ruffle on the bottom, that Lynn McKinney donated along with many other clothes, and took tons of pictures.

I love these kids… they are the sweetest most loveable children in the world. And I do not know how because they have not seen a whole lot of love. Don’t get me wrong; those nannies love those kids and they show some affection, but there are way more kids than nannies and they just do not have enough hands. One on one attention is hard to come by unless, I hate to say it but unless you are one of their favorites.



They need so much and it just makes me mad at myself for having so much that I don’t need. I would be willing to give up so much just to see that they get all that they need and want.

We were talking tonight at dinner about people asking us why we were going on this trip, or what we were going to do. And most people assume we would be building/painting/fixing things. And sometimes have a look of disapproval or confusion when we tell them we are going to love on some kids. Think about the effect loving on kids living in an orphanage can have. Look at all of our pictures, read all of our blog posts. See that we are passionate about these children, passionate for their well being, and passionate about showing Christ’s unconditional, unfailing love to them. We want to be sure we put a smile on their faces that when we leave for the day they are excited and joyful and ready for another day tomorrow. They need love and affection just like any other human being, and we are giving that to them. (Of course, babies who are smothered with love are healthier and happier than babies who experience minimal physical contact. “Kissing a baby, and all the affection that goes with it, helps a baby grow,” says Tiffany Field, Ph.D., the director of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami Medical School.)

Below are a few more pictures of the kids, our team and the area around the orphanage & our hotel.