Orphans

As many of you know, I recently returned from a mission trip to Zambia, Africa. The trip was life-changing, in so many ways. My team stayed on a 10,000 acre farm. The farm included a clinic, acres of farmland, several villages, schools and an orphanage. Being a nursing student, I expected to spend a majority of my time in the clinic. That was what I expected, not necessarily what God expected of me. As a team, we spent time doing a variety of things, but mainly we hung out in the orphanage. Now, I like kids. I really do. But I'm not one of those girls who screams every time she sees an adorable child. I have no desire to work specifically in pediatrics, nor do I feel the need to be around kids a lot. Initially, being in the orphanage was difficult for me. Most of the kids in the orphanage have serious behavior issues. The kids, especially the older ones, have accepted the fact that negative attention is better than no attention.  This desire for attention manifests itself in various outlandish and disrespectful ways. When my team first arrived at the orphanage, most of us were afraid to tell any of the kids no. We simply let them climb all over us and do as they please. But it got old after a while. 

As we spent more time in the orphanage and began to become accustom to the way things were run, we became more comfortable with the children and we also became more comfortable with disciplining them. I learned that loving a child sometimes means disciplining them. At first, I was irritated that I wasn't spending time in the clinic getting my hands dirty with some interesting medical anomaly that I would never see back in the states. But gradually, these kids became my life for the 21 days I was in Zambia. I loved every minute of being crawled on and tugged at. I loved carrying children on my back in a chitenge, even if it meant having every muscle in my back and shoulders sore the next day. I loved every finger print on my glasses, every ounce of snot on my shirt and every particle of dust that caked my clothing. I loved all these things because God loves them so much. There were so many instances when I was at the orphanage, and one of the children would do something funny or cute and my heart was warmed knowing that God was delighting in the moment too.

There was one child in particular that especially left an imprint on my heart; Jessica. My first interaction with Jessica was when she gave me the double chicken wing after I told her to put her clothes back on. She had taken half her clothes off for some reason. The "chicken wing" is something that Zambian children do and although its hard to think of an equivalent gesture in the West, sticking out one's tongue is the closest I can think of.  Whatever the case, the chicken wing is rude and the kids at the orphanage are not supposed to make the gesture to adults. So that was my first interaction with Jessica. Other than the fact that Jessica could be somewhat of a brat, she had the cutest laugh and she was always singing. Always singing. Every time she would raise her little voice to sing some random song, I could just feel her Father smiling down on her. 

Orphans are such an interesting paradox. If you measure their circumstances by earthly standards, they are most unfortunate.  Especially orphans in Africa because their situation is complicated tenfold by the HIV/AIDS epidemic that is ravaging the continent. They have no parents to love and care for them, many of their families have been tragically taken from them by illness or violence, and they often lack food, shelter, and healthcare. By Kingdom standards, orphans are loved tremendously by their Creator and will be blessed because of their earthly predicaments. When I was spending time in the orphanage, I was overcome by the privilege of being able to love those little children who God loves more than I could ever imagine. Loving those kids is nothing less than a privilege. God has a special place in His heart for orphans and everyday that I was able to spend time in the Sons of Thunder orphanage I was able to get another glimpse of the far corners of His heart. Unmeasurable are the limits of an orphan because they call the Creator of the universe Father. Unimaginable is their potential because He calls them His children. Wow, just wow.  

Adoption is another privilege. Adoption entails taking an orphan into your home and loving what the world calls the least, but what God treasures. Adoption is something that I can't always wrap my head around. Its just too awesome. Below are some pictures I took of the orphans who God treasures so. Its official, I really want to go back to Zambia. 

Grace and peace.

Hillary

Jessica

Rachael
Astridah
Wilson
Kizito
Gideon
Mercy
Mutinta
Rastone

Chelsie

Grace
Ruthie and Esther
Mapalo
Dickson