“It takes a village,”she said to me, as one of the little ones spilled his water causing quite the commotion during movie night. And as I sat there on my first night in the giant kitchen, sitting atop tables with 46 adorable children all around me, dressed in their pjs, staring at the tiny laptop that served as the movie screen; I thought about that statement.
It takes a village.
I hadn’t really realized, besides seeing all the work that my parents put into raising my brother and me, that to raise a child it truly takes many people.
I was so excited when I found out that we were going to El Shaddai. It was my dream to work in Swaziland with orphans, to give them the love I thought they so desperately needed.
My heart has always gone out to those who are orphaned, probably because I too know the loss of losing a parent.
Who will look after them? Who will love them and care for them? How is there any hope for a little child with no parent to raise them?
But I’ve come to realize there are so many promises from God specifically for orphans. Such as my favorite:
“ I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you”
-John 14:18
And while parents are so important, it takes a village to raise a child, not just two people. And when that village comes together, even if there are no parents, that child can have just as much hope and love as a child who has parents.
And I can’t tell you how refreshing that realization was. To know and see once again that God looks after all of His children. I can’t tell you how refreshing it was to see the love that these children are receiving at El Shaddai. To see that Jesus loves these children so much that He took them out of their horrible situations and gave them a home, people to look after them, people to love and care for them, and hope for a future. And even though these children do not have parents…they have a village.
The testimonies of these children are incredible. The things that they have endured are unlike anything else. Raped, abused, abandoned, HIV positive, beaten, left hanging tied upside down on a tree, the list goes on and on. But through it all these children can still smile. They still go to school, do chores, attempt avoiding homework, throw fits, cry when their toy is taken, have accidents, spill things, loved to be hugged, run around all day…they still are normal happy children.
But the most beautiful thing about these children is the way they love Jesus…the way they love their Father…the way that they really aren’t orphans at all. These children have endured things unimaginable to most of us but they’ve carried on and endured…guided by the hope and love of their Father and their village that He has given them.
When I envisioned working in orphanages before the Race, I always pictured it to be so sad. But that has not been the case at all. Because Jesus looks after His children. He looks after those that this world has deemed as orphans. He meets needs. He gives hope to all who seek Him. He gives abundantly and provides villages.
And the coolest part is, Jesus invites us to be apart of that village everyday. He invites us to be apart of that hope, to be those people who love and care for the orphans.
I can’t imagine what the future would have looked like for the children of El Shaddai, had the villagers not stepped up. Had people not been obedient to the calling. Had sponsors chosen to keep their money in their wallets. Had the missionaries decided to stay at home. Had the aunties decided not to care for children not their own. I can’t imagine what life would be like for these children without their village.
And so I’ll ask you…how can you be apart of a child’s village? How can you show love and care and be that hope for someone who seems to have none? God has called us ALL to look after the orphans. The question is, are we answering that call?
There are still many children at El Shaddai that are yet to be sponsored. If you would like to be apart of this amazing village that is raising these beautiful children please visit this link: Support El Shaddai
