Category: the orphanage

The best going away present

He stole my heart the very first time I held him. It was June 2009, and I wasn’t sure this little three pound miracle would survive the summer. I prayed over him and prayed over his future family… Read More

Sunday snapshot: Week of Lasts

This week has been all about “lasts.” Last time giving finals. Last time using the trench squatty potty in the teaching building (too much information?). Last visit to KFC. Last time bargaining with stubborn taxi drivers. Last time… Read More

Homeward bound

I’m not the only one headed to the states in the near future. This little guy will soon be headed home. He’s one of the kids we were able to help send to An Orphan’s Wish. Since returning from… Read More

All about the kids

Today is Children’s Day, which apparently is an international holiday. Speaking from personal experience, I don’t think the holiday is acknowledged in the States. But China? In China it’s a day for children to eat copious amounts of… Read More

Sunday Snapshot: There’s a light in your eyes

If I had a dollar for every time I read the idiom “the eyes are the window to the soul” within student journal entries, I would be looking at a very early retirement. However, as much as I… Read More

As simple as straws

Sometimes I struggle. I struggle against runny noses, saggy drooping filled diapers, unwiped tears. I struggle against a lack of bedtime stories, no hands to tuck them in, another birthday passed. The struggle is good, but sometimes the struggle… Read More

Sunday Snapshot: No newness yet

You are the one who makes all things new. We gladly raise our voices and move our lips to acknowledge, celebrate, and proclaim your staggering newness. As we do so, we hold in our hearts deep awareness of… Read More

Sunday Snapshot: A very merry Christmas

This past week has been packed full of Christmas activities. The end of the semester is upon me, I leave for America in five days, and my to do list is about a mile long. Consequently, I thought… Read More

Sunday snapshot: Just another Saturday

Just another Saturday at the orphanage. Words elude me; I’ll let the images speak for themselves.

A tangled web of thread

Oftentimes, our view of the Father’s work is like looking at the underside of an insanely complicated piece of needlework. All we see is a seemingly random and jumbled mess of colored strands weaving this way and that way. Reason, order… Read More