I think it's important that we hear the experiences of those who have been to the orphanage, and met the children. It brings the project to life, and allows those who cannot be there, share in the experiences of those who can.
Here is an experience of one single girl who visited the orphanage:
So I haven´t been as good about doing updates as I´ve wanted to have been. And I only have a few minutes now so I want to share a neat experience I had the other day at a foster care place we work at called ¨The Guatemalan Children´s Project.¨ In Guatemala, there really isn´t foster care, only orphanages. The government takes these children from their parents and puts them in orphanages and they never see each other again. It´s for a good reason, because the fathers are alcoholics and the mothers are prostitutes and they´re addicted to drugs. The children are mistreated, not fed, abused physically and sexually, burned, you name it. The worst kinds of things you can imagine. So the director of this organization, Guatemalan Children´s Project, petitions the judges to get children sent to his orphanage. He finds out from the judge where the children came from and what their stories are. Then, (Guillermo is his name,) goes to the place the judge said the child was from and asks around about the child. Anyway, long story short, he talks with the parents and, if they´re interested, he has them set goals and change their lives so their child or children can come back to live with them. He said the mothers usually cry when he explains this, because, like I said, they have no way of finding their children. Guillermo uses the LDS church to help them change thier lives. He teaches them about the Proclamation on the Family and the Word of Wisdom, and checks up on them to make sure they´re making progress. What he basically does is reunite families. Anyway, it´s a pretty revolutionary idea here.
I went one day to meet with him and then give a lesson to one of the children. I taught her letters and numbers, colors and shapes, and then I asked her if she wanted to sing a song. As soon as she saw me pulling out the church songbook from my bag she grabbed it from me and started leafing through it. I had chosen a few fun songs beforehand but decided to let her choose. I had specifically chosen songs about nature or other fun songs and skipped the ones about family, because I thought that might be emotional or difficult for her. The song she wanted to sing is the one that starts, I see my mother kneeling with her family each day... It´s about a family and how the mother prays with her children and asks God to protect them. The second verse talks about, well I´ll just put the words here:
I see my mother kneeling with her family each day.
I hear the words she whispers as she bows her head to pray.
Her plea to the Father quiets all my fears,
and I am thankful love is spoken here.
Mine is a home where every hour
is blessed by the strength of priesthood power.
With father and mother leading the way,
teaching me how to trust and obey,
and the things they teach are crystal clear,
for love is spoken here.
It´s a beautiful song and I was really touched that of all the songs she picked that one. That she was thinking of her family and wanted what the song talked about. She had me sing it in english first and then wanted to sing it herself in spanish. The experience reconfirmed to me that the most important thing is family and the relationships we have with the people we love. That in the end, nothing else matters. Not what grades I got or what title I have at work or where I´ve traveled or done or how many people I´ve helped. What really matters and what really lasts is how I treat my family and the people around me and that I always have time for the most important thing. It was a really beautiful experience.
One of the children in the orphanage, Guillermo said when she arrived she was almost dead. The doctors gave her one week to live. Guillermo said all he could do was love her, and he did, and now she´s a healthy screaming toddler. (Man, can she scream!) Another girl, the toddler´s older sister, actually, when she came, the entire side of her face was burned and even now her hair is still growing back. Anyway, so these children come from very difficult backgrounds, and to be taught such a profound lesson about family by one of them way very humbling
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