Beautiful Restoration

Today was a day of restoration here at Beautiful Gate. What satan has meant for harm, God has turned to good. What has been incomplete, has now become complete. What was broken and missing has now been restored. Another orphan has joined his family and a lost child has been found.

There was a little boy here at Beautiful Gate before our family arrived in 2010. He has been here for such a long time and has waited anxiously for the day when he would have a family. I remember days when other kids would be adopted and he would sit by himself during playgroup and he would have tears run down his face. So broken and so alone as he waited for his turn. He is such a softhearted little guy and it always made us feel broken hearted as we would hold him in our laps and dry his tears. We prayed with him and asked God to provide a family for him.

Today was the day and God has answered our prayers! He now has his very own mom and dad and he could not have been more proud. I do not think he stopped smiling the entire time they sat together in the chapel and it made all of our hearts glad. No more tears and wondering when it would be his turn because now he will never be alone again. His heart is no longer broken and his desire for a family has been made complete.

As if this was not enough restoration for the day, we also celebrated with an aunt as she came and was reunited with her niece. She cried tears of joy as she held her niece for the first time and then said that she looked just like her sister and cried more (I am not sure if the aunt's sister has passed away or disappeared??). It was really sweet to see her smiling at and kissing her new niece with such a look of love in her eyes. She cried when she told us that she did not even know she had a niece until our social worker found their family and told them. It was obvious that she is happy to be the one to care for this precious child.

It is always sad to see the brokenness that comes along with running a child care center. Children who are without parents and who desire having a family with all of their hearts. Or children who are lost and their family is unknown. Today we saw God bring hope back to these kids and these families through adoption and reunification and it is the most beautiful sight in all the world.