This trip has been a whole lot of being able to do things we’ve never been able to do before. That openness towards us that allowed us to take pictures and videos from the start, teach a workshop to the staff about making connections and building relationships with children, complete forms on every baby in the four rooms where team members have served, and interview foster parents has been a privilege that we have not taken lightly. In all of that, there has been another open door, one we were not at all expecting but one that proved to be one of the most significant experiences of the trip.

The director asked us to provide some training to their “kung fu” therapists (aka physical and occupational therapists) given that we had 2 PTs and an OT on our team. We were led to the front building on campus, what used to be the building where our teams served before they moved into the beautiful new building in the back where we are now. We learned that there is much going on in that old building still, and what’s going on is nothing short of amazing. In that space that used to be filled with orphans are families. In tact families from all over the city come with their handicapped children to receive therapy. Since they may be traveling very far distances from the countryside even to get the help their child needs, they come for 15 days at a time, sleeping there where the orphans once slept and receiving therapy daily–speech, aqua therapy, massage, PT, and OT. Then, they go home with homework to keep the momentum of therapy going and return again 15 days later until the therapists are pleased with progress and release them to allow another family a spot.

I watched our team members come alongside their team members, encouraging, giving suggestions, asking to learn from them. And, I watched the women and children, some mothers with their beloved sons and daughters and some grandmothers who now care for grandchildren day in and day out, and could not help but look around me and feel like I was right where I should be, watching something miraculous happen.

Orphan care starts right here, friends. It starts with all of us joining efforts to support families. It starts with people who care who may not even speak the same language working together to give families what they need so that they are best set up to climb the hurdles in front of them. Orphan care must include doing all we can for family preservation.

Orphan care begins right here, where we are.

It took a good long time to explain not only the concept of weighted blankets and lap pads but how we wanted access to rice to fill them. It caused more than a few raised eyebrows. At one point, Joan didn’t even want to translate what I said to her; “I cannot ask that because that is wasteful.”

We may or may not have felt a bit like this over the course of that 30 minute conversation with a director.

But, eventually, we got more to a place like this.

We took a walk into the depth of their kitchen pantry where a big round cook wearing full on cook-gear showed us the rice storage room where there were at least 25 big 25 lb. bags of rice. We offered to buy a bag from them but in the end, they said we could use it since it wasn’t going to be wasted.

Success.

I showed my muscles and asked for the big ole cook to bring it to the conference room for us. He laughed and then pointed to a metal push cart nearby.

Three of the team spent a good long time filling those things. In the end, the kids and staff loved them, like really loved them.

{wiping sweat from our brows}