Today, our team visited Happy Life Children's Home in Nairobi. I knew before we arrived that the children there had difficult beginnings, but nothing could have prepared me for what I would feel when I actually met them.
Happy Life cares for babies and young children who have been abandoned. Some were found in ditches. Some were found in forests. Others were left on the streets. The youngest baby currently at Happy Life is only one week old. So young!
I cannot imagine how anyone could leave a newborn baby alone like that. I don't understand how someone could look at such a tiny, helpless child and walk away. It is heartbreaking to think that these little ones—these beautiful children—were abandoned when they had done absolutely nothing wrong.
And yet, when I walked into the room, what I experienced wasn't a room filled with sadness.
It was filled with children.
The toddlers were so excited to see visitors. They ran up to us, wanting to touch my hair and my skin. They wanted to play. They smiled. They reached for us. They were curious and joyful.
None of the toddlers were talking yet, but they communicated in so many other ways. A smile. A touch. A little hand reaching out. A child wanting to be held.
Those smiles warmed my heart.
I expected to hear a lot of crying among the babies today, but I was surprised by how peaceful they were. There were some little cries here and there, but mostly the babies were quiet—some sleeping, some being cared for, and some simply looking around at all the people and activity surrounding them.
They were absolutely precious.
It was hard to hold one of those tiny babies and think about how they came to be there. These little ones should have been welcomed into the world with loving arms. They should have been held, protected, and celebrated.
Instead, they were abandoned.
That reality is difficult for me to understand.
The children who are not adopted by the time they turn three are transferred to another orphanage where they can continue to receive care and start school. My hope and prayer is that every one of these children will eventually know the love and security of a permanent, loving family.
But there is something else I hope they know.
They are loved.
They are loved by the people who care for them every day. They are loved by the people who come to visit them. And they are loved by God.
Today, I found myself thinking about how precious every one of these little lives is. They are beloved children of God.
Today, even if it was only for a little while, I got to hold some of them, play with them, make them smile, and let them know that someone was happy to see them.
I hope they find loving homes someday. I hope they grow up knowing they are wanted. I hope they know they are worthy of love. And I hope they never doubt that they matter.
Because they do.
They are loved by God. And today, they found a little more love from me, too.
- Jennene
Comments
Post a Comment