Processing - Part 2

God has been EXPANDING my heart – sooooooooooo much - in several areas, and I am still processing…

The biggest one probably has to do with how I viewed the orphan crisis. I was quite focused on JUST the orphans – but being there you realize that it would be absolutely silly at times to ask “now who is orphaned and who is not?” – you can’t tell from the outside – cuz in most cases, their conditions, clothing etc is just the same, if they have a mother/parents or not…

I guess my burden and passion has expanded from JUST orphans to orphans and vulnerable children – AND WIDOWS!!! Oh my goodness, they can absolutely NOT be excluded from help, as they are for the most part VERy STRONG, COURAGEOUS, HARD-WORKING women with tragic, heart-wrenching stories and in many cases hardly ANY means to care for themselves and their children/grandchildren – a great number of them infected with HIV/Aids.

Also, whereas before I was mostly focused on orphaned babies and young children, God has shown me (at least part of) HIS heart for the older orphans – teenagers and young adults. Just like Richard jn. who is turning 20 this month, there are many others who have not had parents growing up and they are SOOOO hungry for love, affection, attention – PARENTS! My oh my! They might not be as “cute” as little ones (with the exception of our boy Richard, cuz he is!), but boy do they need the love JUST AS MUCH!!!!

Another expansion of my heart would have to affect the way I parent my own children at home – if young couples here can take on caring for 6-20 orphans in their homes on top of their own children (often no financial help at all), maybe I/we can adjust some things, too???? Just MAYBE????