Orphan Shadows

Orphan faces shadow my every step. Every day, every step, I see the shadow of the lonely faces, the faces of orphans longing to be loved and held. The longest shadow was made the day we left the City Orphanage in Jelgava, Latvia, last summer.

The children would hardly let us go; they shadowed our every step. Two or three climbed onto the bus, trying to go with us the last day. As we pulled away and they ran after us, the only sound you could hear was that of full-grown adults crying. There were no words to express what we felt. Orphan shadows will do that to you.

We shared Jesus. We sang. We played games. We gave away clothes and toys and medicine by the hundreds of pounds - that Cliff Temple people donated. We also gave away hugs by the thousands, literally. That's what they wanted most, just to be held. From the moment we arrived each morning until we left, the orphans climbed all over us until they had climbed into our hearts where their memories now shadow our every step.

We're going back again this summer, June 28-July 7, in partnership with Buckner International. We have to see their faces again and hold them close and call them by name, so they'll know they haven't been forgotten, by God or us. So they'll know they are more than just shadows in this world that has cast them aside.

You might like to go with us. Maybe you could make it possible for someone else to go. It costs $3200 per person. Some will not be able to go unless others make it possible. It's not cheap but how is it possible to put a price tag on the value of a hug for a child who only gets held once a year?

Someone once said that, once you see a need, you become personally responsible for doing something about it. Orphan shadows haunt us, unless we walk toward them.