I didn’t know what to expect walking into an orphanage. The only thing I knew about orphanages were from movies like Oliver Twist and Annie. But we lived right next door to this “Hogar De Ninos” and I felt God calling me to go inside. God had given us this opportunity to minister and love and I couldn’t waste this opportunity.
The first time I stepped into “Hogar De Ninos”, I went by myself. I had some free time and I felt God really calling me to go inside. So I mustered up my courage, walked over, rang the doorbell, and was greeted by dozens of smiling faces and kids shouting “GRINGA!”. Some kids ran up to me and hugged me and giggled. The older kids sat in the background and watched me skeptically. I asked some of the kids what their names were and I was answered with a bunch of long names that I could barely understand or pronounce (most people in Honduras have about 5 names). I spent my time there being pulled around by a couple 5 years olds who wanted to show me the toys they played with. Even though these children had so little, they all had so much joy and smiled proudly when they showed me their community chest of toys.
As I was exploring the orphanage, God laid something on my heart. I noticed the little kids had toys, they had balloon animals and candy from a previous organization that came in that same day, TV time was dominated by cartoons and kids shows. So what about the older girls? There were about 15 older girls in the house and they spent almost all of their free time taking care of the younger kids. When the kids cried, the older girls were there; when the kids were fighting the girls split them up, when the kids had to go potty, the girls helped them. These ladies, who are about 14 and 15 years old, are now full time mothers to 20 little kids. When they are done with school and homework, they have to watch the kids. They have no free time.
I immediately felt for these girls. I wanted them to feel noticed, special and loved. I knew God loved them and saw them, and I wanted to show them that too. So my team and I came up with the idea to do an older girls bible study for all the girls who are 13 to 20 years old. Most of the girls spoke English, so they could translate for the ones that could not. So with lots of prayer and thought, we came up with a topic and set the date for Sunday night.
So on Sunday, my team and I showed up with two pans of brownies, 4 bottles of nail polish, and our Bibles. Then we gathered all the girls into their study room in the back of the building.
All the girls were so excited. They quickly devoured the brownies (girls after my own heart) and started painting each other’s nails. We went around and introduced ourselves. They were all so shocked by our ages, I guess they think anyone over the age of 22 is old.
So then we began the bible study. Honestly I was nervous, I have never led a bible study before. But those girls made it so easy to share because they absorbed everything i said. I talked about Samuel 16:7 which says “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.'” I told them that you don’t have to do anything to “impress” God or win His love because He looks at your heart. Then I told my story about how in high school and college, I used to try to dress and act a certain way to impress other people. I didn’t know how much God loved me for who I was so I tried to get love from other people. But finding love in that way doesn’t work. People didn’t love me for who I was. Once I found God and realized His love for me, I didn’t feel like I had to impress anyone anymore because I have an everlasting love that satisfies my soul.
My teammates then chimed in with some of their stories. Even some of the older girls shared their stories. It was sad to hear how we felt like we had to act or look a certain way to gain love. But it was amazing to hear how God redeemed that and how we have His love, which is the only love that matters.
After our talk, we spent the rest of the night listening to music and braiding hair. I absolutely loved spending time with those girls. It was the highlight of my month.
From then on out, every chance we got we we at the orphanage. We were able to build relationships with everyone and spend time playing soccer, watching TV, and just laughing together. Some of the kids went to the same school that my team and I worked in, so we got to say hi to them in the hallways and spend time with the kids on the bus rides.
It is going to break my heart when we have to leave Juticalpa tomorrow because we have to leave all these precious kids behind. However, I will never forget the relationships and friendships that I made with the kids at the orphanage. I love them all so much, and God loves them so much more. 🙂
