Celebrating "World AIDS Day" weekend

We spent the afternoon at an orphanage yesterday. I am not sure I have words to describe it. My heart hurts just thinking of the children, most of them were there because AIDS took their parents, and many of them have AIDS themselves. I am talking about 120 little kids...3-10 years old with a few older ones.

The orphanage is in the middle of a township of 11,000 or so very poor people, most living in very small shacks. They have no place else to go. The shacks are made out of whatever they have been able to find and packed in right next to each other. I didn't see one flower or a patch of grass any where.

Seventeen of the children sleep in small wooden buildings inside the orphanage yard. The rest go someplace else at night. But, during the day, all of them are at the orphanage. There is one water tap just outside the make shift fence that surrounds their small buildings. There are three small outside toilets that serve all the children. There are no facilities for bathing.

The pastor and his wife, pictured above, are the one's who care for these children. Their vision and their compassion is amazing. They are on duty 24/7.

I couldn't help but think, while we were painting a heart on a little girls cheek, or putting a decal of a basketball on a little boy's arm, or just holding a child for a bit, that some of them might have only four or five more years to live. It was sad. Praise God for this couple who were doing what they could, rescuing as many of the children as possible.

Barb took Polaroid pictures of each child and gave the photo to them. The smiles where awesome. Some had never had a picture of themselves. They were so well behaved and so responsive. You wanted to take this child, then that child, then the other child...you wanted to take them all home with you. They were so precious.

The pastor told us that these children would never forget the Americans who came and loved then for a day. He thanked us. I felt bad that it was only for a day. Words could never thank him.

Today we were at the homeless center. One hundred plus adults who have lost their way in life. They were dirty and very lost. Volunteers from the church and in the community feed them lunch and dress and redress their wounds everyday and help them find work. We served lunch to the group, sang some Christmas carols with them and told them about God's love for them and the gift He gave us that we mark as Christmas. This will be the only Christmas for most of them. Many of these people have AIDS and this might be their last Christmas. We talked a lot about Heaven.

That's what it is like out here...

Thank you for your prayers...we need them as we respond to these people.

Ron and Barb