whose child?

Last Saturday, I went to a local orphanage with a few friends. The orphanage is in a small town about an hour or so away.

I didn't really know what to expect, honestly. The last time I went to an orphanage I was about 11 years old. We lived in Belgium and our church kind of adopted a nearby orphanage. We would go each year to put on a Christmas party for them and bring presents. I remember how fun it was to go shopping for "our girl" and buying her all the pretty things we thought she might like.

So that was close to 20 years ago.

Last weekend was Easter, so we brought plastic easter eggs filled with candy to let the children have a little easter egg hunt. We also brought cupcakes and fruit. All of the children were in a large "playroom" and as soon as we walked in they were grabbing the food from us and just devouring it!

We also brought coloring pages and markers so they could color. Most of the children had disabilities so it was hard for them, but I think they enjoyed it!

There were only 3 babies at the orphanage, and I was able to hold 2 of them. I also spent some time with this little guy while he was eating lunch.

And I started to wonder, whose child is this? Are his parents worrying about whether or not he is safe, what does he look like, what are his interests? As I thought about this in regards to his biological parents, I wondered the same thing about his hopefully future parents. Are there families right now who are longing for  a child....and wondering are they safe, what do they look like, and what are his interests?

Most of the children just wanted to be touched, or held, or to hold a hand.

After we returned from the orphanage we went to eat "over the bridge" noodles. It was my first time to eat them and I loved it! It was a great experience. Basically, you get a plate of raw veggies, egg, meat, etc...

Then you put all of it in to a bowl of boiling water. The water cooks it and then you add the noodles and eat it. I was a little skeptical about the meat being cooked all the way, so I just ate around it. But it had great flavor and was perfect since it was a cold rainy day.

love
 
laura