I didn't plan on "part II" - it just happened.On Sabbath, I was invited to eat lunch with a dear sister and her husband, who works in the library. They had invited 3 other friends and after lunch, they wanted to visit an orphanage together with the staff from the library. I was invited to join them and since I didn't have any plans for the afternoon, I did.
31 kids without parents or with parents who can't or don't want to take care of them. This little cute girl is the youngest one. She was left somewhere outside close to the orphanage wrapped in a blanket. She was still a baby back then and they found her because she was screaming like crazy. She's such a cutie... don't know how her parents could "throw her away". They might have had their reasons, but her timid smile makes your heart melt and hurt at the same time. She has a place to stay with people that love her - but one day she might have a hard time dealing with the fact that her parents didn't want her.
Well, we spent the afternoon singing, listening to stories from the bible, eating fruit salad and cake and playing games outside. We (the visitors) had fun, they had fun and before saying "Good bye", each one of them got a new pair of socks. I guess it wasn't my last time there since the library staff visit them on a regular basis. This afternoon showed me once again how blessed I am, having parents who love me and a family where I am at home.
Yesterday during evening worship, one of the (university) girls sat down next to me, laid her head on my shoulder and began to cry. I didn't know why and I had actually only talked to her once when she told me, that she liked my worships and that they had helped her. I let her cry but I had the feeling that she actually wanted to talk, so after worship we "hid" in the prayer room and I got to know her a bit better.
She's 18, first semester of nursery and doesn't feel "at home" here at all, but right after telling me about her problems with the other girls and in class, she told me about her family... and that she wanted a Daddy so bad. Her Dad had left her Mom when she was about a year. The last time she has seen her father is about 11 years ago. Her little brother has another father he doesn't really know either and she has a lot of unanswered questions: Why do others have their daddies but I don't? Why doesn't he want anything to do with me? Why can't I just move on? Why does it hurt so bad to see other girls with their daddies?
I couldn't answer all her questions but I could take the time to listen, allow her to cry without feeling small and weak, offer her my friendship and pray together with her. She declared me her Mom (at least for here since her Mom is far away in La Paz), so now I have a Bolivian daughter and a Bolivian grandchild (no, she doesn't have a child, but my 13-year old roommate Scarley calls me "Granny Marie").
I'm aparently not the only one who is looking for a "family" when far away from home. Scarley has her "whole family" here: aunties, mummies, sisters... well, and a grandmother... *lol* but if it makes her happy... It doesn't kill me to play the "Granny-part".
Is there somebody you know that needs a brother, sister, mother, father... or grandmother? Being thankful for you family and expressing it is step no.1, but don't stop there. Take it to the next level and use the opportunities God is giving you to be a true friend to the person who isn't as priviliged as you are. Pass the blessing on and... expect to be blessed.
I wish you a successful week!
maria
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