Bulldog Sparrow Little Lamb Little Frog Little Duck Little Monkey Bush Baby Now that you kind of know each of the precious children I get to love on everyday I ask that you pray for them. Pray that they feel loved by our Father and not abandoned by their parents. Pray that they feel peace from our King when they are scared and missing their families. Pray that they feel comforted from the Almighty Comforter when they are sad and feel alone. God has placed some amazing women in these children’s lives to show them Christ’s unconditional love in ways I don’t think many of us ever could. Everyday I am amazed at how much these women love these kids and how much I am starting to fall in love with them. I can’t wait to continue to pour the love of our Father out over these beautiful kids for the next two weeks!
The answer to the question in the title of this blog has been yes twice so far in a matter of just over a week. This month Team W.O.W. is working with team Refresh at Kids International Ministries (KIM) in Manila, Philippines. Our contact told us that we could do whatever ministry we felt the Lord leading us to and whatever ministry could best use our talents. When I was praying about this month, I felt like the Lord was telling me it is time to take care of His beautiful children. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love kids, especially infants and toddlers. So when I heard that one of the ministry options was working in the nursery at the children’s home started by KIM, my heart was so happy! I was also informed that the ministry does feedings six days a week twice a day, and a few nurses go along to provide basic medical care. I was told that even though I don’t have that much experience, my experience is great in comparison with the need of the people in the poor communities.
Doing wound care on one of the little boys at our feeding in tent city.
So I go to the morning feedings three times a week to do nursing stuff and then I go to the children’s home six days of the week to love on God’s precious children. Not only do I get to do spend my days with precious babies but I also get to use my nursing knowledge and skills! I am pretty much in heaven everyday of ministry here. I am falling more in love with each precious child I get to love on and take care of everyday. Since my ministry this month is mostly spent showering kids with love, I wanted to introduce you to who I spend my days with. For privacy purposes I am calling each of the kids by their animal name. One of the girls that works at the kids home has her own animal name for each of the kids based on the way they act and look. They are actually quite accurate and funny. I can’t share the details of each of children’s stories, but I can say that some of them have been through more than I could ever imagine. So without further adieu…..
This sweet baby is a healthy two months old! Her mom lived at the KIM team house during her pregnancy so she could get proper nutrition and medical attention. She was born healthy because her mom was properly taken care of during her pregnancy. This little one LOVES to eat. As long as she is full, she is a very happy baby. The Filipino workers all say she is huge for a Filipino baby, and are amazed at how big she is. Being from America, I was not shocked at her size. In fact, she seems pretty healthy to me. She can already hold her head up with no support. She loves to just sit and watch everything going on around her. She will make eye contact with you and is just now beginning to smile when you talk to her. She loves to snuggle up to you when she is being held, but is perfectly happy not being held. She is my little princess and I know the Lord has big plans for her life!
My little man! He only weighs 7.7lbs despite his age of six months. He was born two months premature and has been hospitalized multiple times for various complications. However, he is now relatively healthy and only requires three breathing treatments a day to keep him healthy. He is very particular about when and where he falls asleep. If he is in his crib, he needs you to pat his little butt and prop him up on his side. If you are holding him, he will only fall asleep in two positions. His favorite place to sleep is in a little bouncer propped up with pillows. However, if you stop bouncing him too soon, he will let you know with his raspy little cry. Despite being very particular about his sleep time, he is SO much fun to play with each day. He has one of the cutest smiles with the cutest little dimples! I love to talk to him in baby talk and make very exaggerated facial expressions in order to get him smiling and laughing. He has managed to wiggle his way into a special place in my heart. Out of the babies I take care of, I will probably miss him the most.
Oh sweet, “Little Lamb.” She is probably one of the cutest one year olds I have ever seen! She just loves life. Literally, she runs around all day long with a huge smile on her face. She will even spin in circles until she is so dizzy that she falls down, all while laughing with a smile on her face. She loves to be tickled and play peek-a-boo. She will for the most part entertain herself but loves special trips down to the play yard with the bigger kids. The only thing she doesn’t like is meal time. By the end of mealtime she is worn out from fighting whoever feeds her and most likely has some form of food in her hair and all over her clothes. Whoever gets the pleasure of feeding her, will most like be covered in food as well. However, unlike the other one year old at the children’s home, she does not mind bed time. She actually is quite content and happy when she lays her sweet little head down at night, which may be due to the fact that she was literally running around all day long. I love that she has an endless amount of energy and I love seeing her run/waddle up to me with a huge smile on her face!
This little guy is wild and crazy. He has some of the cutest curls I have ever seen on a little boy! I am pretty sure that if anyone cut his hair, there would be an uproar at the children’s home. Although he is the same age as “Little Lamb” (1 year), he is farther behind on developmental milestones than she is. He was born two months premature, so he is just a little behind but is catching up quickly. I am determined to see him walk before I leave! He is SO close! Although he can’t walk quite yet, he can get places quite rapidly with his speedy little crawl. If he sees an open door, he will be there faster than you can blink. He is spoiled rotten and knows how to cry at just the right time to get volunteers to pick him up. He manages to make every volunteer feel like they are his favorite, which is quite the feat when there are so many volunteers in and out all of the time. He absolutely loves bath time and would play in the water all day if we let him. Unlike “Little Lamb”, bedtime is not this little guy’s favorite so he cries (more like shrieks) for about 15 minutes before he realizes we are not coming in to get him. He is a fireball full of loud noises and energy, but I love his sweet little face and head full of curls.
This little guy is precious. He is 3 years old and is one of the sweetest toddlers I have ever met! He has a genuinely sweet heart and is always willing to help out. Whenever he talks, his little mouth gets all crooked and it is one of the cutest things ever! If he is confused by what you are saying, you will know it because he is the king of the blank stare and head tilt. He is best friends with little monkey, another three year old, and they do everything together. He loves to sit in your lap and read for as long as you were willing. I love story time right before bed when all of the toddlers cuddle around to read books!
Handsome and shy “Little Monkey” is 3 years old. At first, he plays shy, but don’t let him fool you. After about 20 minutes, he will be talking your ear off. He is just now starting to be quite defiant so he has been in time out a lot lately. He is sweet but oh so stubborn! I think he is starting to realize that some people will let him get away with stuff if he looks at them with his sweet little face. Like “Little Duck”, little monkey will also sit in your lap for hours if you read to him. He also loves swinging on the swings whenever we have time outside. Once he starts a task, he is determined to finish it. He will try to sweep up all of the leaves one by one from the yard. When I told him it was time to go inside and he hadn’t finished, he was quite upset. Despite his stubbornness, he has managed to capture my heart. It just melts my heart when I hear him say “tita Beccaâ€� in his little sweet voice!
“Bush Baby” is sweet but quite the little princess. She likes for things to be done exactly the way she wants or she will tell you how to properly redo it. She is always bouncing around signing Justin Beiber or Jesus Loves Me in her sweet tiny little voice. If you want to catch one of these songs on camera, good luck because she refuses to do it on cue. She LOVES taking pictures and makes up different poses for every picture you take. She loves to be held but is probably one of the most independent of the three year olds. You can’t help but love here sweet little face despite her sassy attitude.
