Orphan Sunday

After visiting the motherless home last week, my roommates and I have been making plans I continue to see the babies. We would love to be able to go on a regular basis and, Lord willing,  be able to build a relationship with the home. The best time for all of us seems to be from 8:00-10:00 on Sunday morning, before church.

Things went so much better for us this week. The strict matron we met last week was away(at church ironically) and there were very few workers around. Because of last week, we were timid to hold the babies at first.  As the babies would get fussy, we'd pick them up and hold them. By the time we left, every baby had been held for some amount of time. 

Although things seemed so much better than before, the orphanage is still run on an un-altering schedule. Today we arrived around 8:30 and all of the potty trained toddlers were sitting on the plastic buckets they use for potties. After being there for about 15 minutes, I tried to ask the woman working there if we could get them off and how long the kids usually stayed on the potties. She didn't speak much English, but she told me they could not get off the potties until 9:30. The poor babies have to sit for an hour on the potties!

I sat beside a few of the kids, because they just looked so bored! While I was sitting, one the the girls scooted her potty over so she could be right next to me. It looked so funny, but at the same time it was slightly heart wrenching to watch. After the hour, they were allowed to get up, and some of the kids had empty pots. They didn't even need to use them!

This was the little potty scooter. 

Having a blast as you can see. 

While I was sitting with them, one of my roommates came over with an infant and asked if she could change the diaper. "No, it's not 11:30 yet," was the reply. It was 8:45, and that baby was going to have to have a dirty diaper until the changing time. We tried to ask if we could change it, but was just told that it wasn't time. 

 When they were done with the potty, the little ones were clambering all over me. They didn't want to play, they just wanted to be held.

I tried to play games like "ride a little pony" but it's a little difficult to do with 4 on your lap. 

The most amazing thing was seeing babies that had shied away from me last week, climbing onto my lap just so that they could be held. 

Also, some of the kids actually started smiling and laughing with us this week. 

At one point, when I had all of the kids on my lap, they were so squashed together that I thought they'd be crushed, but when I tried to move any of them, they'd start crying and climb back to my lap. They're just begging to to held!

I got so hot and sweaty, but I wouldn't have traded those hugs and snuggles for anything!

Ahh bless my soul... His little laugh cracks me up every time it look at this picture!

When it was time for us to go, it was so hard. The babies were crying and clinging to us. It was hard to go, knowing that the babies might not be held and cuddled until we return. I can see why they don't want us coming, because all the babies cry when we leave, but it was SO worth the crying to know that they'd been held and loved by someone.

As I was leaving a thought passed through my mind of, 'man, I really love these babies.' About that same time, one of my roommates reminded us about November being adoption awareness month. For many churches, today is "Adoption Sunday."

As people around the globe focus on adoption, I was also reminded of God's adoption and unfailing love for us. If I could love this tiny baby, who might smell and be dirty, who has done nothing to "earn" my love, and who is a helpless baby... How much more does the Heavenly Father love us?! 

"I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says The Lord Almighty."

-2 Corintheans 6:18

How great and awesome is our God, who we also get to call "Abba," our father... daddy. Ps. 68:5 says he's the father to the fatherless. 

Not only that, but we are called his heirs. We, his adopted children, will enherit his eternal kingdom. 

That's too incredible for me to even wrap my mind around!!

"How great the Father's love for us, how vast beyond all measure, that He would give his only Son, to make a wretch his treasure..."

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God te Father is this: to visit orphans... in their affliction. "

-James 1:27

Home for Motherless Babies

This weekend has been jam packed, but wonderful. We filled a lot of activities in on Saturday. 

To start off... Saturday was Heather's birthday! Heather and her husband, Keith are also teachers at ACA and live right in a house behind ours. Heather's Canadian and Keith is Nigerian and they are awesome!

In celebration of her birthday, Keith cooked a fabulous breakfast for all of us.

After breakfast, we got ready and then went to a local orphanage. Like myself, Heather just recently lost her niece and for her birthday, Heather wanted to celebrate her neice's life by going to an orphanage to cuddle some babies. 

We found a place that was close to us, the "Ibadan Home of Motherless Children." I had seen the term used on different buildings, but I didn't know what it meant by "motherless babies." Aren't they fatherless too? Does this society not put an emphasis on the fathers as well? I asked myself. 

When I got there, I found out that all of these children had lost their mothers, mostly in childbirth, and because the fathers have to work, they are not able to take care of the children. This particular place keeps the babies until they're 3, at which point hopefully the father will come to get the child. As the case usually goes, the father does not claim the child and they are sent on to an orphanage/school for older children. 

This is the outside of the facilities. 

The first thing we did when we got there was scoop up the nearest babies. These precious little things were starved for attention. Unfortunately just as quickly, we got yelled at and asked I set the babies down. 

We were also told that we couldn't take pictures, but I was able to sneak the following. 

I settled down with the little infants that were under 9 months. The babies had nothing but the hard cement floor to sit on and their hands were bound in socks that had been tied at the wrists, so that they couldn't suck their thumbs. Some of the kids were sitting in a puddle of their own pee because it wasn't time to be changed. From what I could gather, everything was done on schedule and if te poor baby peed before schedule, well then they'd have to sit with the consequences. 

Even though I'm no psychologist, for the basic fundamental child development classes that I have had, we know that the ability to suck and also be heald are such fundamental stages in their developing into healthy adulthood. 

One of my favorites was this precious baby. She had the most adorable gummy smile!

Ahh, just look at those precious eyes! 

And beautiful feet and hands. 

I tried to get away with the "no holding" rule by sitting on the ground with them, but I was eventually discovered. 

Ahh, bless my soul, I love babies so much!

This little one was one of the smallest infants I've ever seen, and they told us she was a month old.

Absolutely precious!

Around noon, the matron came in, and we realized why the women had been trying to enforce the rules. She started yelling at each one of us for holding the babies. "I do not believe in sentiment!" She shouted. "Sentiment is no good. See these children, they are without parents, so they must learn to be independent. If you give sentiment it spoils the babies. When you leave the babies will just be unhappy." 

Then as if she was very proud of the fact, she pointed to all of the infants we were able to st up on their own. They each had a metal bowl of food in front of them. "See this, every one of them is under 9 months and they can already eat on there own. I am teaching them to be independent because they don't have parents to take care of them."

The poor babies were slumped over their food and would have starved if they had not learned to grab a handful and put it in their mouths. 

It wasn't much better for the newborns. They had to drink a porridge mix out of a cup. Some were held and others had to sit on the floor to be fed this way. 

After the children ate, we were allowed to carry the infants into another room where they were being put down for their naps. 

I was able to sneak a few more pictures without them looking. 

They're all just starved for some attention!

I left with a breaking heart. Part of me wants to never see that again. If this is supposed to be a good orphanage, what do the other ones look like?

The bigger part of me wants to go back right now and snuggle with the babies. 

I have been given a glimps of how things are.  I'm at the crossroads. Do I take action or sit where it is more comfortable, asking, what can I do? They have their rules. Could I even make a change?

Matthew
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdomprepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

After our time with the babies, I had a practice for a fashion show that I'm in next month for the Indian Festival of Lights. 

After enjoying my time with the Indian women, we changed quickly and went to my roommate's church for her choir concert. 

Both Sam and I dressed up for the occasion in traditional Nigerian dresses made from Nigerian lace and onkara. 

Everyone in the concert had to wear clothes made out of a tiger striped onkara fabric. 

The last part of my day was a reminder of the small world we live in. We went to a restaurant after the concert and when I looked up I couldn't believe my eyes... The Clemson game was playing on the TV!! What a fun reminder of home!

Blessings,

Liz