Meet Grace (name changed to protect child). Grace is one of the most precious four year old children you will ever meet. Even at her young age, she gives and receives love and affection like it’s her job. From day one she hopped up on mine and my teams laps, held our hands, and taught us Nepalese clapping games. When we went to the park she wouldn’t let go of my hand, pulling me around from one side of the park to another, practically taking my arm out of the socket with her super-human strength. With her beautiful smile and the immense light that she shines wherever she goes, I never dreamt the way she came into the world was so dark.
Our pastor explained to us that her mother came from one of the villages nearby. When her mother became pregnant, her village told her she must get an abortion and sent her away from the village to do so. God put Grace’s mother in our pastor’s path, and learning her story, he took her in for the duration of her pregnancy. The mother did not want to have an abortion and lived with the pastor even after Grace was born. During her infancy, they continued living at the orphanage with our pastor, until one day Grace’s mother disappeared, leaving Grace behind.
As our Pastor spoke about Grace with the tenderness and love a man has for his own child, he explained that he hopes when Grace is older she will return to her village to share her testimony and to show them the value her life has.
I’ve been at a handful of orphanages and children’s homes throughout Asia and Africa on this trip, but never have I seen one where the children love each other so deeply. Despite having so little adult attention, despite having so little material possessions, despite having traumatic pasts, these children take care of and love each other deeply. The teenage girls take care of the little ones like the big sisters they are, and a couple young women who attend university come to take of the children as well. One of these young women even lives at the orphanage to be a constant resource to the children.
They take care of each other because they have to — because they are a family. They thrive as a family, despite their circumstances, because of God’s love and grace over this place and over their lives.
Please join me in praying for Grace and each of the other children at this orphanage. They are a living testimony that God’s grace is sufficient.
