What a sweet face – what a sweet girl! She truly reminds me of little orphan Annie,
and so I could not help but call her Annie, and she didn’t mind it much. She kind of liked the nickname.
Vera is her real name and she is 13 years old, living at an
orphanage in Lugansk, Ukraine. Within the first hour of being with her and
the other children from the ages of 8-18, Vera had gone to her room and
rummaged through her possessions, which are few and far between and passed out
special gifts to each of us. I got a
small little ball and it is something that I will cherish, for it was something
that she gave to me as a gift – maybe not a useful gift to me in action, but
one that has much meaning to me.
About 2 hours after breakfast, the kids at this orphanage
actually get what they call “second breakfast” before lunch, which can consist
of not much more than a piece of buttered garlic bread. But, this day – they received a lot of
special treats that Forrest (our contact) brought for the kids … little
pastries filled with jams. Receiving
only a small amount of treats, she decided to give me half of what she had
gotten. I tried to tell her that I was
okay – knowing that I would eat a good sandwich in only an hour or so…but with
no communication in a language either of us understood – she clearly
communicated to me that she wanted me to have it!
I had this conversation with some of my squad mates – how is
it possible for someone who has so little, to so easily give up something that
is precious to them? And yet, I have
access to so much and I have such a hard time letting go of my
possessions. I am stingy with my food
and with my objects: my computer, my iPod, my camera … my space. One of the girls replied “because they don’t
hold on to their things with such a tight grip like we do … so it is easy for
them to let go of them”.
God: make me more like little Vera/Annie. Help me to hold loosely to the gifts you have
given me, so that I can easily let them go when I see someone else who might
need or even want them more than I do.
