You met Sophia in an earlier blog. Since that time I have gotten to know her much better myself. Sophia is an orphan. She is two years old and has lived most of her life in an orphanage. She was very ill as a young child and her parents brought her to the orphanage to receive medical care. This was prior to the earthquake. Unfortunately her parents were killed in the earthquake and she is left a double orphan, living in an institution.
I have had the privilege of spending time with Sophia on a regular basis since our first meeting. If you remember, this is the child that didn’t utter one sound during our first meeting until our translator spoke some life into her and we prayed for her. She has a great set of lungs and she loves to dance. She has now said a few things that I understand. Yes, No, Nadesh, (the girl who currently takes care of her)eat and let’s go!
Sophia loves, loves, loves tomatoes. If there are tomatoes on her plate she will NOT eat anything else until they are gone. She also loves teddy grahams, Tampico (especially the yellow one) rice, beans and she is making up her mind about chicken. After buying chicken for her to eat and watching her look at it curiously and lick it before allowing it into her mouth, I asked the director of the orphanage how often the kids get meat. Maybe once or twice a year was his answer. I wondered to myself if this was the first time she had ever had chicken??? I had to teach her how to drink out of a sippy cup. Very, very interesting. The Director told me that they can only afford to feed the children twice a day and meat isn’t an option unless it’s a gift from a sponsor.
If her current situation stays the same, she will grow up living in an institution with more than 100 children and receiving mediocre care. This is not to criticize those that are taking care of her and the many other children in their care. There is only so much that can be done with the number of children increasing and limited resources.
My mind just thinks, what are we as the body of Christ supposed to do? How can we make the world a better place for Sophia and the thousands of others like her? Unfortunately orphanages are necessary around the world. Every day children lose one or both of their parents and have nowhere to go. Many times around the world these children end up on the streets and sometimes are swept up into child slavery and/or child prostitution. While orphanages are necessary, I don’t like them. I don’t believe that they are God’s best option for these kids. They are an option and I am grateful that the kids are cared for but I believe God designed us for family and He designed it that way for a reason. In my opinion, families are God’s best option for children.
What is the Lord saying to you? How can you make a difference in the life of a child? You don’t have to come to Haiti or travel to a foreign land. (unless God is calling you to do so) There are thousands of children in the U.S. that need help just as much as Sophia and other orphans. Will you open your heart and your home? Can you take a few hours a week to spend time with a child who doesn’t have a stable family unit? Do you need to visit a hospital to spend time with a child whose parents are unable to stay with them 24/7 because they have to work to be able to afford the health insurance to treat their child? Is there something else? Search yourself, ask the Lord and then follow His leading. Don’t be afraid of opening your heart. It will be broken. I have learned that the best changes in my life have taken place out of brokenness. Christ died for me and was broken on the cross. He knew that not only His heart would be broken but every part of Him and He chose to die for me anyway. How can I choose not to open my heart for a child in need?
Tonight I will spend the night in my orphanage (not where Sophia resides) I don’t really want to but the kids have been asking for months so… Can’t wait to blog about that experience. Trying to gear myself up for my heart not only being broken but shattered into a million tiny pieces.
love you Toya and your heart for these orphans! Know God is using you mightily as you serve in Haiti! Praying!
Love it. Thanks for blogging this.
Just read in Time Magazine last night about America’s foster kids who age out of the system. That first year that they ‘age out’ and are released, 1/3 of them end up homeless and jobless. More than 50% of the girls end up pregnant that first year. 1/3 of the guys end up in jail that first year. There were some other ‘stark’ figures regarding depression and stats/figures that should be unacceptable for America. Those who aren’t travelling overseas to care for orphans do indeed have opportunities to engage in ‘pure religion’ right here at home too. You may not be able to ‘officially’ adopt one of these foster kids, but you could at least become like a big brother/big sister type of friend/advocate for them.