Wow, yesterday was a day to remember for a long time. After getting up early and attempting to have an American style breakfast, we began our day to visit orphaned kids in various settings. The first one wasn’t really a “orphanage.” They’re called “gypsies” and they are a community of people that live in the wild. They are very uncivilized and have no practical understanding of good hygiene. When we arrived in their “camp” all of the kids (about 20-25) came running out to greet us. They were happy to see us and it looked like they were having the best day of their life. We sang song with them and I shared a short story of how much God loves us. Then, we gave them the packets of “goodies” that Becci Willoughby made from our church and they love them. Shortly after that experience, we traveled a few kilometers to a daycare that is run for moms who sell things at the train station. These kids were kindergarten age and younger. A few of them were very afraid of these big white people. Especially Austin, he looks like the Jolly White Giant! Anyway, we played with them and they also loved their gifts. Our next and final stop was a ministry that housed mothers and their kids who’ve contracted AIDS. This was difficult for the whole team to prepare for. We were picturing moms and kids looking very sick and laying in bed. We were in for a big surprise. These guys were some of the happiest, joy-filled, hope-filled people! We were amazed at their smiles and laughter. Our team sang worship songs and then the kids sang worship songs in their language. After that, we gave them the “goody” bags and they tore through them. As they were expericening all of the things in the bags (crayons and coloring books, bouncy balls, candy, animal foam things, etc..) they stumbled across the glitter pouches. That was a mistake to bring. It was mayhem! One of the moms got this brilliant idea to smear the glitter all over Katie’s face. Over the course of the next 2 hours was an all out glitter war! Everyone had some amount of glitter smeared over some limb or face! But, it was so worth it. To see these kids and their moms play and smile and have fun was heaven on earth. There was not a somber moment! It was all joy and peace–except for the glitter war. This moment reaffirmed that happiness, sorrow, peace, chaos are all relative to our own perspectives. These kids and their moms are making the most with what they have.

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