Papa

There is a little girl at the orphanage named Mary Therese and she's a girl who has a lot of emotional troubles. She's been through a lot, and you can see it in her eyes that she just has a weary heart. She's probably four or five. Well I usually scoop her up and hold her for a while when I'm up there - and I did the other day. She always wraps her arms around your neck and sits close to you and she's just precious. She rarely speaks - she rarely smiles, she's just very quiet and somber whenever I see her. Not to say she's miserable all the time, I just have never seen her bubbly and happy like the other kids. I always ask her if she went to school today and she'll shake her head to answer, I'll ask her if it was good and she'll shake her head, etc. Well the other day when I was holding her, I was surrounded by a bunch of kids and we were all singing together, so I asked her if she wanted to sing. She shook her head no, so I told her that was ok, but I was going to sing, and if she wanted to sing with me, she could. Well a few minutes later I heard a tiny little singing whisper in my ear, and she was singing loud enough for only me to hear, it was so cute. Made my heart smile.

Well today I took another group up to the orphanage, and once again I sat on the step and held Mary Therese. I don't think today was a good day for her. There were men on the team and they were playing soccer with the little boys, and the girls were playing cabrit cabrit chen (goat goat dog... duck duck goose...haha), and Mary Therese just was sitting on my lap. I asked her if she wanted to play and she shook her head no. So we sat together and watched the others play. Then she whispered in my ear, "Papa." And I looked at her and asked "papa?" and she just looked at me with her sad eyes and shook her head yes. I kissed her on the head and said "I'm here, and I love you. And Jesus is here, Jesus loves you and he is your Papa. He's your Papa and he loves you very much." and she shook her head yes. I held her close and did everything I could possibly do to keep the tears from pouring out of my eyes. There I was holding a little girl who was abandoned, who came close to dying (she still has wisps of orange hair from malnutrition), who is now just one of forty-two little abandoned kids, and she's telling me that she wants her papa. I have never felt so many emotions at one time. I was sobbing inside. She has no earthly papa who loves her, who can hold her when she's sick or tired or lonely or who can play with her or teach her how to do things or sit on the couch and watch cartoons with her before church. And I was sobbing inside because I'm so thankful that I do have that. My dad is amazing and I cannot imagine what my life would have been like had I not had him. And I was sobbing because it isn't fair that she doesn't have that. It isn't fair that this little girl in her short little life has had more pain and sorrow than most of us will ever have.

My world changed in just one word that a little orphaned girl whispered in my ear today.

"Papa"

the faces of change

Recently a school group went to visit the children at the orphanage, and after, the children in the class decided they were going to give the kids in the orphanage a big box of cookies and other treats.  The director of the orphanage was incredibly touched by their gesture, saying "The adults in the town, even the churches - rarely give.  And yet these little ones have come and given all that they have.  They are the future, they are how this place is going to change..."