2014 Snapshots

Tuesday, September 21

Only for a day

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I spent the day with this 11 year old boy from a nearby orphanage.  A couple of weeks ago I volunteered  to take some children from the nearby orphanages and girls and boys homes for an outing at the park and lunch.  And today was that day.

I have to admit that I was a little apprehensive.  I wasn’t too sure how it would go.  I’ve volunteered before with babies but never grown up kids. But when we arrived at the orphanage James smiled such a beautiful smile at me that I just knew he was the one for me, to adopt for the day.

There where 18 children from 4 different homes and about 23 volunteers, including a 12 year old boy and his family visiting from Australia.  Everyone was able to have a child for the day.   Many of the children have some kind of disability and some of the kids needed at least 2 people and thankfully we were able to do that.

James is confined to a wheel chair and not able to move his legs or arms very much.  He apparently understands a lot but is not able to communicate. 

So for today I pushed him around in his wheel chair.  We  walked and then ran some around the park.  He enjoyed the running part very much.  The rush of wind in his face just made him laugh and smile a lot.   Then we  fed the fish together and walked over to a food court where we had lunch.  James has never been to a mall so this part of the day was also very very exciting for him.

It was sad to see these precious children living their lives like this.  And it’s hard to understand why….. ………

I only gave them a day out of my schedule but for those who work at these homes – God bless their faithful and serving hearts. 

I was told that all the kids had a wonderful time.  And although I was tired at the end of it, so did I. 

I look forward to volunteering again.IMG_0063

We were busy today and had to be present – physically and mentally so I couldn’t ask too many questions about James.  But I intend too.

8 comments:

Mari said...

What a wonderful thing for you to do. I'm sure it was a great day for James. But I have a feeling you got a lot out of it too!

Kari said...

I did Mari. More than I can explain. I was blessed and challenged at the same time. if you can be both?!

Jewel said...

Bless you for your kindness. That would be a very hard thing for many people to do. What a special treat for James.

Francesca said...

I'm moved, and, yes, I do think you can be blessed and challenged at the same time! And I think each day is probably a blessing and a challenge for the kids at the orphanage.

;) said...

A precious day ! Thanks for sharing...

shayndel said...

Beautiful smiles!

cate said...

love to see your to faces there together. amazing how much other people can touch us, even if we're only with them for a day, an hour. beautiful post, kari!

likeschocolate said...

What an amazing gift you have given this child.

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