His 4 year old body lay like a baby in my arms. His eyes wandered off and his feet remained crossed. Every time he hiccuped, I would imitate him and it made him giggle. An emotion of joy that he had never felt just two months earlier, abandoned to die in his birth home. Kevin.
His limp little 2 year old body lay asleep on the couch. I carefully moved him to my lap, supporting his head and neck with my hand because his spine doesn’t do that for him. His severe brain damage prevents him from processing most senses, making physical touch extra special and stimulating. I stroked his arms and kissed his cheeks, evoking the most precious smile and giggle. David.
These are the briefest summaries I can conjure up about the two precious souls I got to love on this past Friday at a special needs orphanage, Hope for Home, in San Antonio, Guatemala.
Hope for Home is an orphanage founded by an American family from Ohio. They now have three homes in San Antonio. The idea is to keep the “family feel” of a home, rather than the institution of an orphanage. And man oh man, the Lord is blessing this place like crazy. With 15 kids currently being cared for, many different needs are present. Some have Cerebral Palsy, some have Down’s Syndrome, some have other physical handicaps, while another is deaf. This ministry is one of self-sacrificial love. There are about four Guatemalan nannies working there and caring for the children full time whether that’s physical therapy, feedings, diaper changes, education, or simply playing with them and holding them. Each child has his/her own bed, a picture on the wall, and a loving community to pour into them and remind them of how loved and known and valued they are by our Father.
In Guatemala, there is a severe lack of pre-natal care, as well as an overwhelming rate of malnutrition. These two things together result in many babies being born with disabilities. Due to the poverty, the families with children who have disabilities are not seeking out proper care. So, in general, those with disabilities are extremely looked down on and viewed as an inconvenience. I’m on the verge of tears just writing that… it’s a horrific truth of so many cultures around the world.
By the goodness and redemption of Jesus Christ, Hope for Home has been saving lives and changing the stigma of the disabled community in Guatemala. I feel so blessed to have experienced it. The children are precious, they are full of joy, and they truly represent the creativity and beauty of our Father, a magnificent artist and ordainer of life.
Jesus commands us as His followers to care for orphans. This is not a suggestion. Is everyone called to adopt? I don’t necessarily believe so. However, we are ALL called to care for orphans in some form. If that means regularly praying genuine, intentional prayers for the world’s orphans, do that! If that means financially/prayerfully supporting a family who has adopted an orphan, do that. If that means adopting one of the millions of orphans around the world, do that. The only option we do not have as Christians is the “nothing” option. I don’t mean to come across as lacking empathy, because especially in American culture it truly is uncommon to drop our comfort and our understanding and instead do something radical by taking in another child that wasn’t initially “in the plans”. It’s easy to make excuses… I already have enough children, I work full time, I can’t send another child to college… the woman who runs the special needs home, Wanda, said, “I can assure you that the orphan doesn’t care about going to college. He/She just wants a family.”
In Swaziland, I witnessed an unemployed mother in the impoverished bush of Africa drop everything to care for her disabled son full time, all on her own. I also witnessed a beautiful blind woman in the same impoverished village take all the orphans in the community into her own home. She’s blind. She’s elderly. She’s unemployed. Y’all- she’s blind! And she’s actively housing and taking care of the orphans in her community. We are truly without excuse. Imagine if every family following Christ adopted a child, passionately prayed for orphans, and supported those who are called to adopt. The Lord will qualify you. And those lives I got to enter into on Friday are worth it. We were never called to a life of comfort and ease, but sacrifice and love and justice. May we, as the church, rise up and open our eyes to the many needs in this world- not to be burdened but to be heartbroken alongside the Lord. May we be willing vessels to share His tangible love for His children.
Thank you, Father, for opening my eyes and giving me more of your heart on Friday. I pray that you allow me to return to that orphanage and that you continue to stir my heart for those deemed “unlovable”. Thank you for loving us all. I love you, Jesus! Amen.
-Anna
