Back from Bogota

The metal door creaks open and, after an exchange of greetings and hugs with the host moms, we walk into the living room of the orphanage.  One by one the call goes out: “Tia Catherine, Tio Jacob!”.  As more girls race down the stairs into the living room we are overwhelmed with hugs and kisses.  Soon it becomes apparent to the girls that there were some new foreign faces and the girls begin to introduce themselves to the group from our home church, River West.  The phase of acting timid and shy lasts about 10 seconds with these girls, and soon they are grabbing the hands of each adult and giving them a tour of the house.  Natalie shows Becky and Marcie where her bed is and then Yulitza interrupts and shows them where she sleeps.  Meanwhile, Chris (our assistant pastor) meets Daniela in person for the first time and shakes her newly healed hand that he and his family made possible.  For months Chris and his family have prayed for Daniela.  A few days later, Daniela in turn pulls Chris aside and prays for him, his wife, his two boys, and even his dogs, all by name.

Catherine and I were accompanied by a team of 5 people from our church.  Becky and Marcie are good friends who teach together and have an uncanny knack for understanding kids, even in other cultures and in other languages.  Emily, the introvert of our group, bonded really well with Jessica and Ana Maria who have similar personalities.  Katie, the youngest of our group, had the most energy as well as an infinite amount of crafts and supplies.  Imagine the art store Michael’s sponsoring the superhero of crafts – I swear Katie wore a craft utility belt!

Over the span of 7 days we spent most of our time with the girls in the Beehive.  Every night we returned to our beds, exhausted yet encouraged.  It is apparent once you walk into the home that this is no ordinary orphanage.  The way the girls talk and play with one another seems more like a big family (albeit heavy on the feminine side).  Our last night there, Jamie turned 10 years old.  During the birthday party, each girl had the opportunity to share something they love about her.  Each of them emphasized how Jamie doesn’t exclude others, how she is always ready to laugh, and how she has shown compassion to housemates when they’ve been sick.  The Beehive girls know each other well and, more importantly, are growing in love for one another.

More than any other previous visit, I started to feel what it must be like to have children: it brought me so much joy to be there playing with them, or simply talking with them about school, or in the case of Leidy (now 13) discussing boys.  I felt God saying through me, “I love these girls”.