My alarm is set for 6:30, but I wake up around 5 to the sound of voices, sirens, cars driving by, dogs barking, and something that sounds like cannons going off (still trying to figure that one out). Most mornings I go for a run down through a neighborhood just around the corner. I use the term “neighborhood” lightly. There is a gate, and some type of building with dogs on the roof that bark at you, but once you enter there is just a long dirt road that runs into a cornfield with a house on the left, and another on the right. The mountains fill up the background. It is quite lovely.
Breakfast usually consists of eggs, oatmeal, fruit, and is followed by a time of worship with my beautiful new family. From here, we pack some sandwiches and hit the road. It’s about a 15 minute walk to the park, where we catch a “taxi”—aka 15 passenger van that about 30 people cram into—and ride out to “Casa de mi Padre,” the orphanage where my team is working for the first month.
We eat lunch pretty early, and then start our morning routine which consists of doing laundry, helping a couple of sweet ladies cook lunch for the kids, and washing dishes. Our goal for the month is basically to learn how to run the orphanage. There are several people on staff who need a vacation, so we are going to become the "house moms" so that these men and women can have a few days of rest. Around 1:00, 21 beautiful children climb out of a big silver van, and run up to greet us with giant hugs. Once they are settled, they have lunch and we return to being moms. Three of us spend approximately an hour and a half cleaning the dishes, while others wash and hang laundry, iron, and help out with homework. Towards the end of the day we have a few minutes to just have fun with the kids. We jump on the trampoline, play soccer, and laugh at the conversations we try to have, but we find so difficult because of the language barrier.
While driving to the orphanage the first day, Shane (the man who started the orphanage) told us his vision for the house. He wanted it to be a safe place that operated like a real home. It is truly a beautiful house, and compared to what these children probably came from, it looks like paradise. The children range in age from 3-13. Many came from abusive homes–sexually, emotionally, and physically. Some have scars from where they were actually burned as punishment, others have emotional scars. As I was listening to Shane talk about where these kids came from, and then seeing what they come to, I thought about my own journey. I thought about how I lived in complete poverty before I came to know Christ. I was abused by satan, and I came to the table plenty of scars of my own. But the scars just serve as a reminder of the healings and restoration that have taken place. After exchanging my junk for God's glorious riches, I began to see glimpses of the paradise I am walking into. For now, I see my future home through the kingdom here on earth. But when the first heaven and earth pass away, I will see with my own eyes the "casa de mi padre"…My Fathers house!
This is the view from the path leading up to the orphanage.
As we begin to minister to these kids, pray that they will see the hope that comes through knowing Jesus. As wounded as they are, pray that we may be used to bring healing. Physical. Emotional. And mostly spiritual.
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea existed no longer. I also saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look! God's dwelling is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will exist no longer; grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer, because the previous things have passed away."
Revelation 21:1-4
