The Orphanage

Today I was able to go serve at an orphanage in town. It was absolutely incredible and I loved every minute of it! As soon as we got there all of the kids came running up to us, ready to play. I was one of only two guys who went to the orphanage, so naturally all the little boys ran at me to rough house. It was so fun playing with them, and trying to stand up as five of them were grabbing at my legs trying to pull me down. Then I started picking them up and carrying them around, which was a bad idea because then they all kept asking me for piggyback rides and I was dead tired after like the first 15 minutes there. So I decided that we should start playing soccer because that involves a lot less physical effort from me compared to the other games we had played so far. I also got to go to the nursery and hold and feed some of the infants. Overall, the day was absolutely amazing and it was such a blessing to get to play with all these little kids. While I was there, I started to think about how fun and good the trip had been, but I also realized that I get to go back to my nice, blessed life, but these kids don't have parents and they have a rough future ahead of them. This thought broke my heart, and while I realize there's not a whole lot that I can do for them right now besides loving on them for a few hours, I know that doing just that at least makes some difference. As I was with them, I was talking with God in my head about all this, and what I got from Him was almost like the love we were giving them was a deposit. It will help them grow up knowing that they are worth loving and worth caring for even if their parents aren't around. I hope and pray that each one of these kids can be raised well, but statistics show that's probably not what is going to happen. I feel called to these kids and orphans in general, and I've began to pray that God will give me wisdom on how best to help them in the future.

This verse has come to mind a lot as I've been thinking through all of this: James 1:27- Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.