Mother Teresa HIV Orphanage

It is less than a month now until I go to Africa. So many emotions, so much anticipation. Tonight as i was praying about going to Mother Teresa's Orphanage I was overwhelmed at the thought.

"Such a beautiful day . . . to meet Christ face to face in the poor. He was there -- the hungry, the sick, the naked Christ -- and the thought of Him in this distressing disguise gave me great joy, peace and strength. The greatest disease is not TB or leprosy, but the feeling of being uncared for, unwanted, deserted by everyone. The greatest disease is the lack of love. The unwanted are hungry -- not for food -- but for love. They are thirsty, not just for water, but for peace. They are homeless, not just for shelter, but for understanding. Be the living expression of kindness -- kindness in your face, your eyes, your kind greeting. Let no one go away from you without being better and happier." -Mother Teresa.

We will spend only one day at this orphanage, one day...is it long enough to change anything? to love a child for a day, it seems impossible to imagine. I don't want to be a tourist to despair, to walk through and pity, I want to...what? I don't know, change it all, bring them home, heal them, but none of this is in my power...Christ in His most distressing disguise...in the emaciated child, the innocent born with a death sentence, the children living with HIV.

Sometimes I don't know why I am going to Africa, really what is the point of an 11 day trip, am I changing anything? I have moments that I am so excited to go and then I think why am I excited to see poverty like i have never known, to walk into orphanages where children will never leave to a forever family, to witness the innocent living in dumps, is this really something to be excited about? Its an odd place to be, but I am excited. I don't really have a lot of gifts...I make the best chocolate chip cookies ever and I can talk for hours, that's pretty much all I got...except love. I can love, especially a child. I know that I will fall in love with every child I see, with every pair of dark eyes staring at me. I guess right now that is my plan for this orphanage, to love the way God created me to. To see the child behind the sickness, to find the joy beyond the circumstance, to see God's sovereignty in their reality. To make a child smile, if only for a day, to let them know a mother's touch, kiss, hug and pray that it will be enough.