we're finally here. we left hyderabad at about 4 PM, and arrived safely at the orphanage around 2 or 3 AM. it was pouring rain the whole way home, which delayed our arrival by a few hours. but we're finally here, and eager to see what the next few days will look like.
it feels so weird to be unpacking here. we sort of live here now.
my first encounter with the kids here is always interesting. it's like they have to get used to your presence again before they are totally engaging with you. or at least that's sort of how i feel around my younger guys. except for this one friend of mine, gopi. he's about 12 or 13 i'm guessing and we seemed to pick right back up where we left off. he gave me such a big smile and a hug this morning when i came down the stairs.
our rooms are right next to the new girls dormitory they built this year (thanks living grace!) so the first thing i saw this morning as i walked to the stairs were the faces of my precious girls here. i LOVE having their room next to ours. there aren't many things more precious than being greeted by giggles when you step out of your door.
today was full of lots of sweet moments. it's the little things, with these kids. we sat outside with the elementary school girls for a little while, playing games and talking and teasing and pastor kiran came upstairs. he sat with us and helped me by translating my words as i showed the girls a stack of baby photos i brought along with me this trip. i think their favorite one was this picture of me, about four or five, in a high chair with a chocolate popsicle and the popsicle is all over my face. i also get some of the best smiles out of these kids when i point at them and say their name so they know i remember it.
and one more thing before i go. apparently i can't upload a photo straight to blogspot, which is dumb. so i'm going to post a photo on facebook to correspond with these last words.
one of the things i love most about pastor kiran, my dear friend, is watching him engage in different roles as daddy. today, it took on a form i had never seen as he held kuruna. karuna is the youngest child living at berachah, her brother and mother live here too. she was born HIV positive, and she just had her first birthday last week. i personally have never been here when berachah has been caring for anyone under three years.
watching karuna with kiran is something really sweet. throughout the day she is passed around among some of the older kids, kiran and her mother. but there's just something about the way karuna is with kiran, the only man in her life filling the father role. she takes his face in her hands, she rests her head on his chest, and the way she smiles at him and lets him play with her just speaks to this sweet, safe bond between the two of them.
i don't know all of her story, or her mother's or brother's. but i get to watch a sweet little girl, with HIV, being loved on by some of the best people on earth. and that's really significant here in india, where typically the only other place i've heard of HIV individuals residing has been in slums designated for people like them. unclean people.
but here, the ground is level. i guess it sort of reminds me of Jesus interacting with the unclean, the sinners, the rejected.
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