Oh India, it was so good to see you, I can’t believe that it’s already time to say goodbye.
4 down, 7 to go. Still so crazy how time flies.
This month we have had the joy of partnering with Sarah’s Covenant Homes (SCH), an organization that takes in children with special needs.
SCH has 4 homes and the children here are split between each home depending on the age, gender and needs of the child. The homes have ayahs who are full time nannies, and then foster moms from America that stay in a home for up to a year. Then there are short term teams like us that come in frequently and help the kids, whether that’s through school related activities or just showing them love and playing with them.
As our two teams divided among 3 of the homes every morning and afternoon, I decided to take two different jobs our hosts needed help with. Instead I did administration work in the morning with two teammates, and then put together a whole VBS curriculum with 3 other teammates that we took around to each home for a week in the afternoons.
I like to stay busy.
Now, though VBS was a blast to put together, our admin work was the most interesting.
There about 120 children that live at SCH, and every one has a binder filled with medical information. This month our hosts needed these binders to be organized into three sections with dividers to be able to find the paperwork they needed quicker.
My OCD heart sang a little bit when I heard this. I was down to divide all the things.
Now there are dividers in Hyderabad to purchase, but our WR budget for supplies took one look at the price and laughed.
So wheels turning, we improvised.
And that is how I found myself every morning, for almost 3 weeks, double taping the sides of 360 pieces of construction paper. And then going back through hole punching and taping our handwritten tabs onto them.
That was not exactly what I had in mind when we started, but it was great, and many days filled with fun talks and a lot of singing later, the dividers were completed and we were feeling accomplished.
And so started the process of rearranging all the binders.
Yeah, I don’t know why I found all this fun either. But that’s the beauty of God’s different gifts.
At first it was all autopilot when shuffling through papers. Monthly medication in a pile, lab reports in another, one more for doctor notes.
But then as I was organizing I started reading the papers that talked about each child and how they were found. SCH partners with government orphanages to take out the children with disabilities to provide them with the help and stability they wouldn’t get at a government orphanage.
How the government receives the children though?
I couldn’t believe what I was reading.
See here in India, if a child isn’t born healthy, the parents don’t want them.
Girls aren’t respected here already, but if they also have a disability, who is going to want to marry them?
If a boy has a disability how are they going to make money?
Heaven forbid if either of them are HIV positive. Schools won’t even let them in.
So what do you do with a child that is now worthless to you?
You leave them anywhere you want.
Some children didn’t leave the hospital after they were born. The mom did though. Other parents kept their child for a few years and then got tired and brought them back to the hospital and left them there.
Railway stations. Churches. Orphanage doorsteps.
One sweet child was found alone by the police on the side of the road. It said she was just standing there wailing. She was only 5.
My sadness turned to anger as I could just picture this girl I had grown to know and love, standing there, confused, scared and alone.
I wanted to go shout at the parents, shake them into understanding that what they were doing wasn’t right.
How could you? That’s your son. That’s your daughter. How can you just abandon them like that? You’re supposed to love them no matter what.
And in that moment I heard the Lord’s voice so clearly. I wasn’t even trying to talk to Him, but there He was.
Morgan it’s ok, I love them. That’s my son. That’s my daughter. Just as I take care of you, I take care of them.
I’ll never leave.
And slowly He replaced my anger with peace. And just a hint of joy.
Because instead of picturing that sweet girl standing and crying on the side of the road I could now picture her being picked up into the arms of her Father as He sets her in His lap and gently wipes her tears away.
There is no greater love than the love of the Heavenly Father.
He is sovereign.
He remains.
Now the beauty of VBS is that while the rest of my squadmates here only got to go to 1 or 2 of the houses, I got to go to all 3. While some of them only saw one floor of children, I got to see them all.
Which was great because as I organized each binder I then got to pray over that child in person. As I danced and sang at VBS I got to sing the Father’s love over them.
And as I danced with them, as I saw those smiles and looked into their eyes I heard their Dad talking sweet truth over them.
My child,
you are my masterpiece. There is not a fault in you. I knitted you in your mother’s womb. You are perfect.
My child you are Mine, I’ll never leave. Wherever you go, whatever you go through, I am there. Don’t be afraid.
My child you are loved. May you always know that. It will never change. Do you hear that? Never forget it. Forever and always I will love you.
I have enjoyed getting to know every single one of these sweet children. They are always smiling and full of laughter and have brought me so much happiness this month. My prayer as we leave is that these sweet children will know how deeply their Father cares for them. That it won’t just be head knowledge but that they will draw near to God as His child, full of awe and wonder. That they won’t forget who holds their hand and walks beside them. That they’ll always know that they are smart and beautiful and perfect as they are.
That they are loved.
