While most of my ministry was working with ESL and I was passionate about it, I just had to visit an orphanage before leaving India. I was unfamiliar with orphanages since I had never been to one before. Therefore, on Saturday night a group of us went to an orphanage that part of Michelle’s team and part of my team visited earlier in the week. From visiting the kids earlier in the week, Michelle had a desire to throw a pizza and movie party for them. Thus, we came over as a surprise to the kids at 5pm with Papa John’s pizza (I know it’s India but Papa John’s, Pizza Hut, KFC, and McDonald’s do exist) and the movie “Kung Fu Panda”.
These kids ranged from the age of about 3 to 19. A couple of the older boys met us at the bus stop and walked us to the boy’s home. As we walked into the home, all the kids were sitting nicely on the floor with huge smiles on their faces. The room was lit with joy as well as a poster on the wall with be-attitudes according to how Christ would want his people to treat each other.
One man, a former business man, cares for all 25 or so of these kids. Girls are in one house and the boys in another. A few of the kids were walking us to the bus stop, he told a few of us one of the kid’s story. The eldest child was 19 and the orphanage “dad” found her at a train station at the age of 13. Her father had died, her mom remarried, and her step-father sold her into prostitution. When she heard of this she ran away from home and ran to the train station where her life hasn’t been the same. She was raised in such a loving, Christ-centered, home around all these other children, who all have stories of their own.
These kids may have parents still alive and are in touch with reality so they, at times, grow up with wounds associated with their previous life. However, they are raised in such a loving home with the power and comfort of Christ instilled within them that they are thankful and choose to follow Christ.
I met a couple of people while in India that have told me of how they grew up in an orphanage and when they tell me this they add, “And my ‘dad’ loved me so much that I want to teach others about Christ.” One was in seminary school and the other was the uncle of one of my ESL students, who has put his step-sister and niece through ESL, as well as brought much of his family to Christ.
“Because my dad loved me soooo much…” This phrase has stuck with me so strongly for many reasons I think. These kids have been taken from brokenness and have been provided for, beyond what is necessary to survive. They have been showered with the deepest love in existence and they know it and they accept it. It blows my mind how people leave all they have to come start an orphanage in places like Bangalore, India (not the healthiest of places to reside because of the amount of pollution) and spend a generation at least pouring all their love into kids and raising them up to fear the Lord (Deut. 10:12).
The orphanage we visited was special. God proved to them over and over that he is faithful and he is their true provider. They ask for no outside money but always have what they need. As we began our pizza party we asked if any of them had ever had pizza before (because we were so excited ourselves to have pizza) and only one of the older kids raised his hand. We then asked if any of them had seen “Kung Fu Panda” and none of them had. At the end of the night, the dad told us that a few days before we came the kids were praying and asking their dad when they could try pizza. We arrived that night as a surprise to them and had no idea that they were praying for pizza. Something so simple but so significant because God not only takes care of their every need but he hears and answers their prayers.
