Incredible India...I did experience Incredible India inside the eyes of each child ...
They range in age from 4 to maybe 15 or 16. (at right is pictured the youngest orphan...4 yrs old) Some have parents and know their parents, however their parents for many different reasons cannot take care of them so they find themselves here (this is a MUCH better alternative than being street kids, we saw those kids too and our hearts broke). There are others who have no family, only their 'brothers' and 'sisters' who have adopted them in the children's home. Some have been abused in their past, others face a not so bright future
since their parents can come and remove them at any time and often will when the children reach a good working age.
Each child has a story...most would break your heart. My heart broke as I watched these little girls carrying metal buckets of cold water to sometimes bathe in, sometimes to clean with. (Praise God that we were able to help fix their water system so that running water flows from each tap within the children's home now!) My heart broke when I noticed that most kids walked barefooted (every child has one pair of shoes, but they usually only wear those to school). 
My heart broke as I held their cold hands in mine to warm them. My heart broke when they finally allowed the wall between us to fully be broken down and they trusted
me to know their name, to hold them, to hug them, to love them. Here are 3 sisters... Sapna, Pooja and Aarti. I left a piece of my heart with these young girls...together we shared hugs, smiles, laughter and tears. I'm so privileged to have met these 3 precious young ladies.
If you look deep into their eyes you will see that they, like every child, want to be known and want to be loved. They want to be a child! They want to laugh, to play (most of the time to play duck, duck, goose!), to run and be carefree! Thankfully we were able to give them the chance to have a few days of playing and just being a kid.
(If you look closely in this girls eyes you will see my reflection taking the photo!)
So, here's my challenge, take a moment out of your day and look into your child's eyes, or someone else's child if you don't have children. They may squirm, they may not understand why your so serious and want to just look into their eyes, but maybe God will use that moment to show you a fraction of the emotion I felt as I looked deeply into the eyes of each precious child in India.
Comments