Week One.

I have been here for a week now and everyday I fall more in love with this place. The children here seriously dig holes in my heart. Which may seem strange but I'm not sure if there is any other way to explain the feeling. Knowing their stories and getting to know them I forget and have to remind myself that this is an orphanage and some of these children will never have a home or a family. It's hard to comprehend why anyone would want to give up these children. Eva one of the smallest of the baby C's. She was abused emotionally and physically by her mother since she was born and was brought here six months ago by her father. Going on three now, she still refuses to make eye contact and never smiles. She plays alone and watches others eat before she eats her own food. She is starting to trust me and cries if I take her off my lap. She is beautiful. There is a Ugandan couple that wants her, however because her family is still alive and will not sign her over, she will remain in the system until she comes of age. Her problems will only progress through out her life. Bobby is five and is now in preschool. He wants to know everyone's name and loves meeting strangers. He is kind to his friends and always smiles. Bobby has aids...and is old enough to know it. He is also old enough to realize that while his 4 best friends get adopted to families in Nashville, he will remain at the cottage until it's time to move to another orphanage and will probably never have a family of his own. The baby cottage here takes very good care of each child here. They are fed enough to keep healthy and well...we try our best to keep them as clean as possible however you may disagree after seeing pictures. However there aren't enough volunteers in the world to give these children the love a mother and father can give. With all 57 of them we try to spend individual time with them each week. They will all cry when you put them down, or let go of their hand. I still find myself questioning why anyone should have to go through this. I'm sure it's much easy working at a baby home than a home where the children are old enough to be kept up at night knowing their mother are father don't have enough love for them. Like I said before, Its only been a week and it's been an eye-opening experience. Keep these children in your prayers as I post more pictures. Thanks for taking the time to read this and feel free to ask me any questions by email. cpaeschke@eagles.ewu.edu