The Ministry of a Crayon

THE MINISTRY OF A CRAYON

 

I have never been to an orphanage
before. I thought it was a made up thing really, something from the movie “Anne”
and never really seen in the states. 
(none that I’ve come across, granted I have not sought them out.)

We went to the Krasnodon orphanage last
Saturday.  The orphanage is a huge brick
building with lots of windows, looks like a school building, which we found

out
one actually is their school.  When we
went inside there were kids everywhere, ranging from 8-16 or so.  There weren’t as many kids there that day as
there normally are because some of them go “home” on the weekends and stay
there during their school week.  The kids
there on Sat were ones that didn’t have homes to go back to. So they found
themselves watching a tv with the volume blaring and the content of the movie
violent.  No one really keeping an eye on
them.  We toured the place a bit, seeing
their cafeteria and their rooms.  I was
pleased with the way things were taken care of and how cute their beds and
living space was.  I noticed some of the
children take pride in how neatly their beds were made and where they claimed
their little space. 

What I did with some of the kids was
COLOR.  I have always loved
coloring.  But never have I colored more
than I have this year.  The cool thing
about coloring is that you get to spend really great quality time with those
coloring while allowing an avenue for creativity to come out.  How often do we seek approval of a smile or a
“good job” after something we made or created? 
These kids want to hear that there pictures are beautiful, that their
imaginations are special and that they are worthy of praise and love.  I so much enjoy coloring with children.  I love that God has put this means of a
peaceful play in me.  I am not great and
being a jungle gym for hours, or even singing songs and organizing playful
events.  I sit quietly with the kids in
the corner and color.  I learn their
names by making them name signs.  Something I noticed kids everywhere all
love.  Girls with pretty rainbows,
butterflies, hearts and flowers.  Boys
get flames, and sports equipment, or whatever they ask for.  Boys usually ask for specific things they
want drawn, usually a phase they’re in… I’m sure. 
I can remember always hanging signs on things to take ownership of
things when I was younger.  Rachel’s
Room, Rachel’s things… whatever.  Their
name sign is something they take and put wherever they claim their small bit of
personal space or items they have.  I
absolutely adore the pride they take in their name, the gleaming smile that this picture is mine and can’t be anyone elses, it’s “my” name. 

Something their culture does is to give
gifts back to those that have given them a gift.  I didn’t really realize this until I started
to get all kinds of drawings from them. 
As I made them pictures… they made me more.  (they are much faster than I am and
definitely more creative!)  How sweet was
this day… I was so blessed.  Diana was a
girl I fell in love with… from the start. 
Twirling a jump rope for her early on… and then coloring with her
later.  She stuck by my side all day.  I colored her name and she duplicated it for me to have one too. 

The thing I started to do was to bless
their little drawings, their name papers.  Jesus loves you (in their language, under Diana’s name) and things like this for

                                                                                                                              I don’t think he knows what’s on the back… but I do and the Lord does. 🙂