Cambodian Orphanages

One of the areas very dear to my heart are the orphanages and the various treasures God has placed in each one.  At one, we find the children very shy and not sure about these "white people" coming through.  Some have recognized us from previous visits and are anticipating some goodie or treat in store.  And then there are those who sit in the corner, in the meeting room, and quietly talk to one another but not quite trusting of anyone else.  All come from different backgrounds and circumstance.  Some have lost parents, others have been taken from parents, yet others cannot remember their parents. Others it would not be prudent to share about in this posting.

This little gal latched on to Don
the whole time we were there.

So we come in and each of us give an encouraging word, telling them how much the Father loves them, to hold on to their dreams.  Then we each get to sit on the floor with different ones, passing out whatever it was we brought for them and exchanging names etc.  I gave each of them a  sticker for their hand, forehead or cheek and they loved it.  It was fun being able to love on them one on one.

At two other orphanages things were quite different.  These children were happy to see us from the time we set foot on the grounds.  We were surrounded by children hugging or holding our hands and saying Hello in a Cambodian accent.  They quickly took us by the hand and led us to the house so they could show us their rooms etc.  It was a happy group of children and most seemed to have lived there for more than 5 years.  It was so easy to fall in love with them, and so hard when it came time to say goodby.

There were many pictures we were able to take, but without being sure of backgrounds we didn't feel at liberty to share them at this time for safety reasons.  The little girl with Don had been orphaned as very young child and had had surgery for a cleft lip.  She's a precious little angel.

Pray with us for these children.  Some backgrounds are sad while others may be horific and are still healing, but they are all still precious ones that the Father loves and has a destiny and future for each one to walk out.