A Day at the Orphanage

On Tuesday, January 15, I had the wonderful opportunity to volunteer at Sofia's former home, For His Children Quito. I met up with our good friend from the States who we met through Facebook while journeying both our family's adoptions. 

 

I spent the first couple of hours with the toddlers. Not all of them were at the orphanage during the morning because they had school, but I still had the privilege of playing with most of them.
They were so much fun! I spent my time following them all around the orphanage property, jumping with them on the trampoline, and feeding them lunch. They are all so sweet and I'm in love with them all! 


Nearly all the children have colds right now. I can definitely see how quickly colds can spread here with so many kids. One little boy called me "Mama" a couple of times. It must be so confusing, not knowing who your mama is and where she is. I wonder how these kiddos know about mamas and daddys. One little girl repeatedly cries for "mama" when she is crying. I remember that Sofia's second word was mama, yet she had

never had one. I wonder how they

know about mamas, how they know about family. It definitely shows you that God's plan for every single child is to have a family to call their own. Even if you are in a wonderful orphanage, you still don't have someone to call "Mom," and these kids know it.   

Don't you just love this smile?

I'm in love with this precious girl and my greatest desire is that a family will choose her as their own.

After I helped the caregivers with lunch and clean-up and after a short grocery shopping stop with two volunteers, I got to spend the rest of my day with the babies. Some of them were so tiny and they were all absolutely precious. 

Look at that face! Isn't he darling?

I mostly spent time with the one year olds. We were actually there when one of the one year old girls went to be with her forever family. We watched the caregivers pack up her stuff and hug her goodbye. It was a wonderful moment.
There were four other kids that were all about one year old - three boys and one girl. 

I fully enjoyed every single minute I had with these kids.

I had the opportunity to feed some of these children their dinner. They were all spoon-fed soups and sauces and other easy foods. 

This child (above) totally stole my heart. He is cute, charming, and so sweet. I wish I could just hold him and play with him all the time. I loved making him laugh and seeing this gorgeous smile. Playing with him was my favorite memory of the day. 

I spent the night in the guest room and had to wake up early to go back to our apartment. I was sad to leave the kids, but I know that I'll be back. I don't know when, but I will be. Someday I'd love to spend several weeks volunteering here. I love these kids and they deserve all the love they can get. 

“Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf^[a] welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not only me but also my Father who sent me.” (Mark 9:37)