Learning While Playing With Orphans

The last few months have given us the opportunity to re-connect with an orphange that is about 5 minutes down the road from our house - Hogar Infantil Bethel. Now that we've been there on a consistant basis, the kids know who we are, know we'll be back, and greet us with warm hugs as they see us pulling into the parking area.

There is one little guy who normally beats all the other kids to wrap around my leg when I get out of the car - his name is Ezequiel. He's the one on the upper left with the grey shirt and blue shorts. These kids are starving for love and attention, so we do our best to look them in the eyes when they speak to us, introduce them to new games, and show them that they each are valuable in our eyes. These little guys are pretty easy to please.

In contrast, the teenagers living at the orphanage keep their distance a little longer. You can see them starting to wonder about their identity outside the orphanage - wondering where they will go when they reach 18 and need to move out. In an effort to better connect with a few of these guys, we invited four of them over to eat pizza and play ping-pong. Their names are Gerardo (a.k.a. Chero), Gustavo, Marcelo, & Carlitos (who now wants us to call him by his second name - Neuwell).

When I went to pick them up, they were super excited. We had lots of fun smacking the ping-pong ball around the garage, while listening to them make fun of each other reminded me of high school. As we sat down for dinner in the kitchen, we were able to hear each one of their reluctant stories. Gerardo ran away from his physically abusive parents at age six and hasn't seen them since. He lived at the train station until an elderly woman took him to the orphanage. Gustavo and his nine brothers and sisters were taken from their parents when they were found unable to care for them by a judge. They were split up between three orphanages. Marcelo and Carlitos are brothers. They lived with their mom until she became a drug adict, living on the streets. Marcelo was split from his brother and moved into the orphange around age ten. One year later, Carlitos joined him after their mom died of an overdose.

Each of these guys has overcome so much, and they still have a long way to go. We want them to know that they have an "aunt" and "uncle" nearby who believe in them and desire for them to grow in their relationship with God and break the cycles that have trapped their parents.

Spending time with these kids challenges us in many ways and lets us step into a world that most of the students at the university would benefit from entering into. As Jesus modelled, we want to help meet the needs of the multitudes while training a few that will come along beside us.

We'd love to hear any similar experiences you have had and what you are learning about serving others.