Friday night I had a decision to make. I had told our social worker to only keep children under 5 as it may take us a long time to sort out the paperwork and we do not want the children who were being transferred to be here for the next 2 years and way over our age limit. It is not an easy thing to say but BG specializes in care for infants to 5 year olds. Children over 5 need special care and emotional support which our staff are not trained for at this time so while it is hard to ever turn a child away, we need to stay focused on what we do well.
We were suppose to get 12 children, but we only had 11. The Bo'me were carrying them to their houses and I was walking toward the houses with them when I got a call from our social worker. They had a 6 year old in the van and she was HIV positive and the other social workers were concerned that she would not get her ARV medicine consistently at the place they were wanting to transfer her. I took one look at her and knew we needed to keep her. She did not look very healthy for a girl her age and so I felt a strong desire that we need to help her get the proper nutrition, medication and love. I carried her to her new home and she clung to me tightly as we walked together. I cannot ever explain the responsibility I felt as I carried her along. God has placed a huge responsibility on Bryan and I to care for these orphans and vulnerable children, and I know He will not abandon us. He will shower us with His grace, mercy and wisdom. He will provide for His children meaning us, the staff, the volunteers and the kids here.
Last night I went into one of the baby houses to help with dinner. This house got 4 of the new children and I wanted to see how they were adjusting. Much to my surprise, the 4 children were doing very well. I had heard that the 6 year old spent a lot of time Saturday crying and when I came into the house, she was a bit shy, but did not seem unhappy. All the kids who have been at BG for awhile came running up to me and yelling "Me Anita" which seemed to indicate that I am trustworthy as the 4 new children warmed up to me quickly. The 6 year old came and sat by me and smiled up at me, the one year old sat in my lap and one of the other 2 girls was playing peek-a-boo with me. I am thankful that the Lord has brought them here. I pray that some paperwork can be found so we will be able to find a good home for each of the children. I do not know anything about any of their pasts, but I pray that God will use us to make their future one of hope, love and joy!
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