South Africa- Dec. 15th 2011
They captivated my
Heart with one Smile
I have
fallen in love… again, one smile, one laugh was all it took. These children at
TLC orphanage in Johannesburg, South Africa have completely stolen my
heart. We arrived from the airport and
were greeted with running children, smiles, hugs and laughter. They have rejuvenated my heart, and brought
so much joy into my days. Our day starts
at 5:15am and I couldn’t be happier. You
heart cant help but explode for joy when you see their faces just wanting to be
loved.
fallen in love… again, one smile, one laugh was all it took. These children at
TLC orphanage in Johannesburg, South Africa have completely stolen my
heart. We arrived from the airport and
were greeted with running children, smiles, hugs and laughter. They have rejuvenated my heart, and brought
so much joy into my days. Our day starts
at 5:15am and I couldn’t be happier. You
heart cant help but explode for joy when you see their faces just wanting to be
loved.
The
children that are at this orphanage get here from a variety of sources. Some are found on the streets, in the garbage
or in random places and the police will bring them here. Some mothers will have the babies in the
hospital and then leave without so much as a word; the babies are then taken
here. They get an average of 2 babies
per week. Just yesterday a newborn baby
arrived only days old. Some mothers
simply cannot feed or provide for their babies so they will bring them
here.
children that are at this orphanage get here from a variety of sources. Some are found on the streets, in the garbage
or in random places and the police will bring them here. Some mothers will have the babies in the
hospital and then leave without so much as a word; the babies are then taken
here. They get an average of 2 babies
per week. Just yesterday a newborn baby
arrived only days old. Some mothers
simply cannot feed or provide for their babies so they will bring them
here.
The first
priority of this orphanage is to reunite the babies with their families if it
is possible and if it is a safe environment. If there are brothers and sisters at the orphanage they keep them
together. They next try to find a home
with someone from South Africa and if that is not possible then they go to the
list of families abroad waiting to adopt these precious children. 90% of the mothers of these children have HIV
but due to new medicine they can find out when they are 6 months old if they
have it or not and get rid of it while they are young. Praise the Lord!
priority of this orphanage is to reunite the babies with their families if it
is possible and if it is a safe environment. If there are brothers and sisters at the orphanage they keep them
together. They next try to find a home
with someone from South Africa and if that is not possible then they go to the
list of families abroad waiting to adopt these precious children. 90% of the mothers of these children have HIV
but due to new medicine they can find out when they are 6 months old if they
have it or not and get rid of it while they are young. Praise the Lord!
Here are some of their stories:
Meet Natalia:
Natalia is 3 years old. Natalia’s mother had a stroke and died while giving birth to her. Her father is an alcoholic and is unable to
care for her. Her grandmother is taking
care of her older siblings but cannot handle anymore. Natalia was adopted by the director and now
lives close by with her new brothers, sisters and family. Natalia was the first girl to come up to me
once we arrived. She took me all around,
showed me where I was going to be staying, the bed, kitchen, living room, and
toilet. She has a huge personality and
lets you know exactly what she is thinking. She has such a sweet heart. She
is very smart and you would never expect such a voice & personality to come
out of such a small body. Whenever she
meets a man she asks, “Are you my daddy?” The men then reply “No” she then
responds with “Do you want to be?” She is so precious and that is just one example
of the many cute witty things that come out of that little mouth.
care for her. Her grandmother is taking
care of her older siblings but cannot handle anymore. Natalia was adopted by the director and now
lives close by with her new brothers, sisters and family. Natalia was the first girl to come up to me
once we arrived. She took me all around,
showed me where I was going to be staying, the bed, kitchen, living room, and
toilet. She has a huge personality and
lets you know exactly what she is thinking. She has such a sweet heart. She
is very smart and you would never expect such a voice & personality to come
out of such a small body. Whenever she
meets a man she asks, “Are you my daddy?” The men then reply “No” she then
responds with “Do you want to be?” She is so precious and that is just one example
of the many cute witty things that come out of that little mouth.
Meet Laurel. She is
only a few months old. She was left at a
hospital after she had been poisoned with fertilizer. It is unknown if she was purposely poisoned
or if she was poisoned due to the water being contaminated that was used to
clean her bottle. She will be here until
she is adopted. She has such a sweet
personality. She barely fuses and you
can tell she loves being loved and she loves being alive.
only a few months old. She was left at a
hospital after she had been poisoned with fertilizer. It is unknown if she was purposely poisoned
or if she was poisoned due to the water being contaminated that was used to
clean her bottle. She will be here until
she is adopted. She has such a sweet
personality. She barely fuses and you
can tell she loves being loved and she loves being alive.
Meet Adrianne &
Coral. They are twin brother and
sister. They are currently not up for
adoption. Their mother passed away. Their dad has said he wanted custody of the
children. In order for the parents to
obtain custody they must come to visit regularly. If they don’t come every week they can no
longer take the kids off the property. After three months of no visitation they start over as if they have
never visited before. After four months
of no visiting they no longer have legal rights to their children. Their dad has not visited in over 2
months. Paper work is being drawn up for
them to be eligible for adoption. It is
so cute to watch them interact. Amongst
all of the kids that are in the room with them, they know that they are brother
and sister. They fight more than the
other ones, they play more than the other ones and you can tell they have a
special connection. They were so sweet,
they both crawled into my lap, let me read stories to them, held my hand,
snuggled and loved on me.
Coral. They are twin brother and
sister. They are currently not up for
adoption. Their mother passed away. Their dad has said he wanted custody of the
children. In order for the parents to
obtain custody they must come to visit regularly. If they don’t come every week they can no
longer take the kids off the property. After three months of no visitation they start over as if they have
never visited before. After four months
of no visiting they no longer have legal rights to their children. Their dad has not visited in over 2
months. Paper work is being drawn up for
them to be eligible for adoption. It is
so cute to watch them interact. Amongst
all of the kids that are in the room with them, they know that they are brother
and sister. They fight more than the
other ones, they play more than the other ones and you can tell they have a
special connection. They were so sweet,
they both crawled into my lap, let me read stories to them, held my hand,
snuggled and loved on me.
These are
just a few examples of the sweet children here. They all just want to be loved, want to be held and played with. Even if children aren’t your cup of tea, once
you start seeing them the way God sees them, all your heart can do is break and
then be filled with love for them. Morning prayer and worship sessions have given us energy and intimacy
with God that keeps us going throughout the day.
Be praying for these sweet little ones! Scabies, chicken
pox, lice and other things are easily spread here and it is a constant
battle. These kids are tough and have
learned to survive. Their little lives
point to Jesus!
pox, lice and other things are easily spread here and it is a constant
battle. These kids are tough and have
learned to survive. Their little lives
point to Jesus!
