You Don't Have to Be a Millionaire to love these kids

On Sunday and Monday, we went to an orphanage called Ganas. We went in knowing the conditions there had brought Oswaldo to tears. We went in knowing that about 14 of the kids had been at another orphanage that had shut down and were dropped off at the women's prison where their moms were incarcerated, and this orphanage had taken them in. We went in knowing these sweet kids needed love, attention, and hope.

On Sunday there were only two workers, Inez and Violet for the 37 children. We toured their facility and saw the boys and girls dormitories - beds with mattresses that sunk down because the frames were broken, no electricity in their rooms, a broken window letting in the 50-degree Quito air in the girls room. The washer and dryer was broken, the refrigerators only marginally worked. It was overwhelming.

And then there were these sweet faces. Not cynical faces. These children and teenagers who had been through abuse, been forced into prostitution by their parents, been abandoned somehow had the capacity to hug strangers. To sing songs with us. To play frisbee and soccer and catch.

Here are some of their beautiful faces:





We started Sunday with songs - Cristo me ama (Jesus Loves me) and Hillsong's "Came to my Rescue" in Spanish. It was a sweet God moment to sing a song about God saving and rescuing his children to these children in their language, and watching as for the most part they quietly listened. We taught about Jesus and did some coloring, followed by time outside for games, face painting, and sports.

Monday the guys spent most of the day trying to fix the washing machine. They found out it was an electrical issue, that if resolved or even band-aided, can help with the lighting in the kids rooms, refrigerators and washer and dryers. With all hands on deck for the children, they hadn't taken the time to find the source of the problem.

While the guys were once again being handy, the ladies tried really hard to remember parachute game activities from elementary school. Though the kids would have been content if we spent an hour of running under the parachute to a new position!

Arts and crafts, dancing to Justin Beiber thanks to Cas' ipod library, and reading ensued. Many of our teammates took time to pray around the facilities. Below is a picture of the girls' room. Each child had a bed and a nightstand. That was it.

One of my favorite stories was when an older boy asked Cas if he was a millionaire. No, why did he ask? Because he knew it took a lot of money to fly from the United States. And Oswaldo and Cas explained that yes, it was very expensive, but that he was worth it. It was worth it to pay money for a flight to meet him. And his face lit up at the realization of his worth in this former stranger's eyes - it's what Visting Orphans is all about!

Here's our team with many of the kids at Ganas -

I don't want to forget these faces, their stories, these needs. I don't want to go back to my comfortable American life and forget to beg God for families, for supplies, for electricity, for love and attention, for salvation for these children. I am so thankful that Oswaldo and Denise want to partner with Ganas and they said on our last day that they're aware it's a marathon, not a sprint. Praise God for servants in it for the long-haul!