They are orphans. 65 of them; ages 3 to 20. They are beautiful. They are special. They are loved. This orphanage, the Cambodia Hope Association, was started about two years ago by a man named Ritti who was an orphan himself. His family left him on the streets of Cambodia and he had to survive on his own, roaming the streets in search of food and shelter from the time he was 3. How he survived is God and His plans for his life. He became a Christian, and decided when he grew
older he would start his own orphanage. God is alive there, He is moving. He is shaken things, He is raising up a generation from these children. They have been rescued from the street, from broken families who can no longer care for them, and from the child slave industry. If you’ve seen Slumdog Millionaire you know 
what I’m talking about. Ritti has big dreams for this place and for his children that call him dad. So does God. He has rescued these children. They truly live by faith. Ritti and the orphanage pray for God to provide the food for everyone. They go through pounds and pounds of rice a day. Sometimes they barely have enough. But, even if they are running low and you find yourself inside while they are eating, you will be offered rice multiple times. They are givers, they love with all that’s inside them. I found myself wondering how when they are orphans, when they’ve been given up, how do they still love? I’m still pondering, but part of me knows it’s God and their family of each other. They are learning community, just like my squad is.
in their cute accents. We would play ball, from basketball to volleyball to soccer. We would play a game pretending to be ninjas and the goal is to hit each other’s hand before they try to yank it out of range. Or, my favorite, playing chase and pretending to be the tickle monster to a group of about 5 girls. Oh how they loved it, how they giggled and screamed, and made me giggle and scream as they would turn the tables, attack and tickle me. They could play it for hours. I would try to relax and take a break from the hot sun, from being out of breath, and they would say, “sister, sister play game,” and act like they were going to tickle me. I would relent and begin again. 
Two boys in particular hung on to me from the beginning, Peap and Reach. They were both left by
their fathers and then eventually their mothers could no longer afford to take care of them. I love these two little boys. They loved me back. One, I could tell had some anger issues, he started acting out and being somewhat aggressive more towards the end of our time there. I wanted so desperately to be able to really talk to him, for him to tell me what is going on inside. I had to wonder what was going on in his heart, what pain was there? I can only imagine. I decided to pursue him more than I had been and make sure to give him physical touch and extra attention. I noticed this helped. He just wanted attention and love. The only other thing I could do was pray for him. I have prayed healing over his heart, a melting of his heart, a forgiveness over his heart, for God’s love to come and just grab him and not let him go, even if he kicks and screams at first, because ultimately that’s what he needs and wants. God IS after him. He already has begun His pursuit. And HE WON’T RELENT.
Eventually all the children went from calling us sister to mommy. At first it was a sort of lighthearted joke, but somewhere it eventually took a more serious tone. Just like our leaving every day. It was always a 10 minute exit with all the children hanging on to you saying goodbye multiple times as we tried to make our way to the tuk tuk (a fun form of transportation). At first they would simply say goodbye to us at the orphanage gate and then wave goodbye from there as we rode away. As time passed they began to go a little farther, running alongside us down the road shouting and waving goodbye. Then they would run all the way to the end of the street waving until we finally made another turn and they and we were out of sight. They would even run close enough to still be holding your hand as we slowly drove away. Their goodbyes would melt your heart. I kept thinking one day we will be saying goodbye and not coming back the next day. Your heart falls in love and breaks, their hearts fell in love and would they break too? Would they be okay when we left for good?
