Grace Baptist Church in the Dominican Republic: Haiti

I have never looked into the eyes of an orphan.

I have never held the hand of an orphan.

I have never seen the tears of an orphan

nor have I ever felt the love of an orphan.

Until today.

What I noticed most about the children of the orphanages we visited today was that they wanted to hold hands. They wanted to hold our hands. They wanted to hold each other's hands. They wanted to touch and be touched. Little boys holding hands with one another. Little boys with their arms around one another.

All I could think when watching them, playing with them and photographing them is that they want to be loved. They want love, hugs and connections.

Perhaps some of them knew their parents at one time and remember their moms and dads. Others have never known their parents and will never know their parents. They don't have memories of a mom and dad. They don't know what it is like to call out to their mommy or daddy and hear someone answer back. Many of them will never know what day they were born, where they were born or if they have any brothers or sisters.

These children looked into our eyes, they laughed and they smiled. They played chase and kicked balls with us. They played catch. They teased back when we teased them. They tickled back when we tickled them. They knew how to play, how to giggle and how to have fun. They smiled and their eyes twinkled.

They are no different than my children or your children. They are children created by God and loved completely by Him.

Jesus says in Matthew 19:14: "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven."

Our only hope for these orphaned children of Haiti, and the world, is found in Jesus Christ. Through him they will be rescued.

MAISON DES AGNEAUX DE DIEU

ORPHANAGES