That evening before I could even unpack and get settled I had jumped into a game of basketball with some of the kids. There are about 65 kids at the orphanage and unlike the city of Dhaka the kids have some space to run around and play within the orphanage. Since it is a Christian run orphanage there is a short devotion time at 6:30am and 6:30pm. Before the devotion time I was able to meet a dozen or so kids and somehow remember their names. After devotions is dinner. Before dinner the kids recruited me to help them roll rooti, similar to a flour tortila. The small kids have small tables and the older ones sit on benches at a bigger table. Dinner - usually one of an of innumerable combination of rice, potatoes and curry and sometimes supplemented with fish - is eaten in the traditional style: with the hands from a metal plate. After dinner is a study time and then off to bed.
Wednesday, in short, was a day of helping the kids with various tasks and lots of playing. There was no school due to a city wide Hindu holiday. There was a large quantity of basketball, badminton, cricket, pushing on the swings, monkey bars, story telling, and laughter.
Thursday was a school day so the older kids were away most of the morning and I caught up on some journaling and talked with the administrator of the orphanage who had gone unnoticed during Wednesdays "work." I was also able to spend some time playing with the younger kids. Most of the younger kids speak only Bangla but smiles and laughter are an international language, especially when there are hugs and playgrounds involved. In the afternoon there was more time spent with the older kids. At devotions I shared my testimony and a short challenge to the kids through an interpreter and thanked them for blessing my heart in my time with them. After dinner I caught a sleeper train (another potential blog post) back to Dhaka.
Reflecting on my time there I say it was a blessing and a good medicine to my soul. The staff - from South Korea, Germany, and the USA - are a picture of Christ and his love to what most of the world would call the unlovely. They could have the comforts of life and raise their family in a safe place, yet they spend their lives in a very hard place and pour their love into those kids. The kids call the Korean lady "Mother" and many familial references are made when describing others at the orphanage. The older kids play with the younger ones and help them with studies and every aspect of life as a loving older sibling. They all help out with cleaning and cooking and make the orphanage function. It is truly a Home of Love and I saw Christ there. In addition to all that, it was just plain fun. It is a good day when a precious little girl comes up from behind, grabs your hand, looks up at you with bright eyes and huge smile and leads you to a swing. Even though she can't say "push me" you know that the only thing in the world she wants at that moment is for you to love her, and spend some time with her and a swing.
As I walk the streets of Dhaka I am often approached by kids who are either orphaned or whose parents are too poor to feed them. They ask me for money and it pains my heart to know that their innocence has been robbed. Even if I give them a few taka it will probably go to a boss that has taken advantage of their innocence for his own gain. That day their boss will give them enough sustenance to barely survive. When they turn teenagers the girls are used for prostitution by these same men. If they aren't trafficked, the only life they know is begging. They have no skills to market or improve their life with. The big hope of the boys is to become a rickshaw driver and make $4 or $5 a day.
At the orphanage it made my heart smile to know that these kids were not being used for the gain of someone else. They are provided for and loved with the love of Christ. They have a hope for this life and the life to come. It is a beautiful thing to see simple faith, the faith of a child.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment