Last month I got lice.
My team and I lived at Sarah’s Covenant Home and worked with disabled children. These kids are so precious, I couldn’t help but love them…. even if it meant getting lice! Being able to hold them, hug them, and let them know they are loved was so worth it!!!
This blog is about the kids at SCH. Each one has a uniquely special story, and I want their stories to be told. I want them to have hope… hope for a greater future, financial support, and even finding families through adoption.
–Because of government regulations, we are not allowed to post full facial pictures of the children. Also their names have been changed for their safety–
This is 12-year-old Silas. The first day we met the kids, he scooted up to me and tried to climb into my lap. He is always so happy to see visitors! He loves music, and during the boy’s learning time around the table, he would almost always be banging on the drum or xylophone. He loved it when I played some songs for him on the xylophone!
Winnie is so sweet. I was able to interact with her by holding her hand, singing to her, praying for her, and helping her strengthen her grip by holding toys in her hand. Even though she doesn’t know how to communicate, her beautiful smile says so much.
This is Asher; he is blind. I loved working with him and trying to communicate with him through touch! One thing that I’ll never forget about him is how he loved to throw toys on the floor to hear the loud crash. As soon as the toy would hit the ground, he would start laughing! It was very entertaining to watch him, and I laughed right along with him because his smile and laugh were so contagious! He also loves to walk with someone leading him. This picture was taken at the park.
Isaac…. he is 17 and speaks very good English. He goes to school during the week and his favorite subject is English. He came up to our roof a lot to talk with us – we had many funny and entertaining conversations with him, and discovered that he can be quite sassy! He told us over and over again that he didn’t want us to leave, that we should cancel our plane tickets to Malaysia and stay in India. He definitely helped make our time at SCH enjoyable!
Zane has downs syndrome. He lives at Victory Home for boys, which we visited a few times during the month. Every time he saw me, he was so excited! I had the privilege of helping him learn numbers and the ABC’s. Even though I only worked with him twice, by the end he was calling me his teacher. His smile and joy are so contagious!
I love this girl so much!! Her name is Jodi, and she is 9 years old. She doesn’t speak, but when she’s excited she says “eeeeyyyyy”. She loves being outside and was soooo excited when we went to the beach!
This little guy, Barnabas, was always scooting around on the floor. I didn’t have the chance to work with him a lot, but he is precious!
This is Matthew and he is 8 years old. He’s such the character! His English is good, and he would say the funniest things that always made us laugh! This is his signature pose with his arms crossed.
Tatum was born with no control or muscle in her arms and legs. She is seriously amazing…. she can write with her foot! She goes to school and is very smart. She would also give us high fives with her foot – the sweetest thing ever!!
Jeff is a very smart boy. He is 9 years old, and sits in a wheel chair. He doesn’t speak, but he knows some communication. He can put his hands together in the greeting “wandanaloo”, he knows the sign for good morning, he waves goodbye, and smiles for pictures. During the afternoons when the boys sat around the table and played with toys, he showed me how he can stack colored rings and also multi-sized cups inside each other. In this picture, the therapist was helping him draw. He is learning to grasp small items like a marker in his hand. It was really hard for me to say goodbye to Jeff, because I could see how much he was improving and how much he loved to learn. Even though he couldn’t speak, he had a way of communicating that grabbed my heart. Somehow I knew he understood what I said to him. When I went to his room to say goodbye, he was so happy to see me… but when I said goodbye, it’s like he knew I was leaving and he looked so sad. I’ll miss him a lot!
This girl is the cutest! Monica is so energetic and is always running around. She just learned to walk in the past few years, and now they can’t keep her still. She would always escape down the hall to the boys room. She also loves music, and the way she bobs back and forth to dance will always be imprinted in my memory!
These are 2 of the school boys, Palmer and Brent. As you can tell from this picture, they are crazy! They would come and knock on our door at 6am and wake us up just because they wanted to see us. Brent gave me the new nickname of “Olana”! There were so many times when they would just run and jump on me. Together they are so mischievous, but I love them so much!!
Kathleen is blind. Most of her time is spent sitting on the floor, rocking back and forth. I sat with her a lot, and also helped her stand up and walk around. She loves music, and sometimes I would sing to her or play worship music so she would calm down. She is very special to me!
This precious little girl Miriam spent a lot of time sleeping in her wheelchair. We couldn’t interact with her much, but I would hold her hand and pray for her. Please pray that she continues to grow in strength and develop properly!
Jason just turned 18 years old, and he is mostly deaf. He wears a hearing aid whenever he goes out, and he knows a little bit of American Sign Language. He tried so hard to communicate with us, and the way he pronounced my name always made me smile: “La-la-na”!
Josh is around 16 years old… he has no mobility and he doesn’t speak, but when we would call his name, his face would light up with a smile!
Melanie’s smile is one of the cutest I’ve seen! She is so full of joy; every time someone entered the girls room, she always wanted to say hi to them. She is very smart. I loved playing and laughing with her!
If you want more information about Sarah’s Covenant Home and/or how you can help these kids through financial support, visit their website at www.schindia.in
