Orphanage

Dave is going to upload some posts about our visits with our “sponsored children” in Rwanda, so I will let him cover that. However I wanted to briefly talk about the orphange we visited on the last night.

We got into Kagali late on Tuesday evening, and Samantha did her best to get in touch with a local orphanage that we wanted to visit. However, she wasn’t able to reach them, so we just dropped by unannounced.

When we walked into the office of the director, he immediaely dropped what he was doing, without knowing anything about us, nor what we wanted, and ushered us into a bigger room where we might be more comfortable.

He then told us a little about the orphanage, and it’s challenges (one of the biggest challenges is that people want to give support to the kids directly, but never to the orphanage or it’s financial needs, and the orphanage can rarely cover it’s own costs).

I was truly amazed at his gracious reception of us. Granted, it was not unusual for “Muzungo’s” to be welcomed wherever they went, but his obvious desire to take advantage of every opportunity to make these kids’ lives better really stuck out. I could not think of one institution in NYC that would have greeted strangers with such grace and selflessness. I’m sure in NYC, we would have been told them to come back later. This man simply dropped what he was doing, and did anything he could to receive us.

How wonderful would it be if I had that attitude toward life? Again, I realize that he “saw an opportunity”, but his reaction to us was genuine, and it spoke to the gentle and caring nature of many of the people in Rwanda. Everywhere we went, there was a spirit of care and concern, and I did not sense the backbiting and tension and competitiveness that is a regular experience every day in NYC. I’m sure it was there still, and maybe just hidden when we showed up, but it was still a great lesson for us to experience.

Again, it made me wonder why it was me visiting Rwanda to help, and not Rwandans visiting NYC to help.

When we met the kids, it was like something out of a movie. They just embraced us like we were old friends coming home from a long journey. Joshua, the smallest of the kids, grabbed my hand immediately and didn’t let go all night. It was impossible to not fall in love right away. He soon jumped into my arms, and was fascinated by my hair. He wouldn’t stop stroking it all night. It was adorable.

We talked to the kids in a large conference room, and they sang for us. We then sang Amazing Grace, and they knew it and joined us. Then James said a prayer for them, and paraphrased the Bible verse Jerimiah 29:11, saying, “God loves you, and God has plans for you, plans to prosper you and give you hope.”

The kids, who knew English, immediately burst into applause, as if they knew that God was good, and that He loved them.

What were we to do? Why were we there? Did they really need our help, or was it the reverse? These orphans were glorying in what God had for them, and I was blown away.

Amazing.