These words are from seven years ago when Billy and I lived in Moldova. But this memorable little girl continues to impact my every day and I wanted to share with you all.
So this is Donna. Isn’t she beautiful?! Just looking at her smile as I write this makes me want to run down our apartment stairs, catch the necessary taxis, and hold her as she sleeps tonight. She is precious. She has both physical + mental handicaps, her body is as stiff as a board, and she gets little attention in her orphanage room, but she is a joy.
When I arrived she was taking a nap alongside eight other children. She lay there, wide awake, staring up at the ceiling because she was too stiff to move and had learned early on that crying would not bring someone in to get her. See, there are too many children and too few workers, so the children learn to lay quietly during their long nap, even if they awaken or never fall asleep.
She’s old enough to walk, but does not even know how to sit up. I held her, stroked her, loved her, sang songs to her, smiled and snuggled with her. We had a blast and I think she laughed the entire afternoon. She was sitting in a very wet diaper, as they only get two diapers a day! But I think we both forgot.
When it came time to leave I laid Donna gently on a mattress with the other eight children and saw the smile I had seen all day wipe off her face and turn into a frown and muffled cries. In an instance my heart broke.This face will be forever imprinted on my mind and soul. She knew my departure meant days, months of loneliness.
What can I do for her? Who will be there to show her she’s beautiful, that God loves her, that she was not a mistake? We were told by the workers that many of these young children die as they grow older because they need people to feed them and give them special care, but as they grow up in the orphanage system, they are not given this additional care. In other words they STARVE to death because no one helps them. I know that might sound blunt and harsh, but how can I write it any other way? I’ve been to orphanages before, but somehow this beautiful little girl grabbed a hold of my heart and I will never be the same.
