Be Love Boldly: Rwanda, Day 3: Noel Orphanage

As our busses rounded the corner and started down the road, we could already hear children cheering and running toward the gate. They were so excited to see us.

Noel is the oldest and largest orphanage in Rwanda. It's home to almost 700 children and young people aged between a few days and 25. There was no shortage of babies to cradle, hands to hold, necks to hug, or children to play with. To say we were mobbed by joyful abundance of love is an understatement. It was a bit overwhelming...BUT THIS IS WHERE I LEFT A PART OF MY HEART!

The orphanage is huge and had Cows and Sheep/Goats roaming freely through the facility. They showed us the kitchen and pointed out which kids stayed in which buildings.

We saw the babies and toddler area. We were able to love on the nannies who were so busy feeding, changing, washing kids and trying to change bedding. These ladies love these children, there just isn't enough of them. I made sure to greet each nanny. I learned to say good morning and embrace/kiss them as their custom. I could see the lights in their eyes. We were there to love on them too.

We saw the pig!!! This thing is huge. It was running in my direction and I yelled, "oi! and ran out the gate", that always gets a good laugh. We saw their chickens and two cute little kittens. We also saw their garden. Emmanuel was my guide. Boy does this child have some enthusiasm. One minute he was there, the next he was gone. It was quick.

I wish I could tell you how it is that you find the child/ren you "bond" with while there, but there are no words to describe God's work. He sends the children to you. As I rounded the corner a beautiful girl named Odeda smiled at me and grabbed my hand. She didn't speak a single word of English. As we walked on the tour, a teenage girl with Albinism, Evelyne, slowly took my hand and then hugged me. She whispered she loved me. So surreal. The love they have for us for being there. No strings attached. Evelyne left me and Odeda often, as it appeared she had some peer pressure, but she always returned.

Our family didn't see much of each other today. I did run into James and 5 toddlers hanging on him, Chris and several children of various ages, and Cameron with a mix of ages as well, walking around the grounds. That's what we did for the first 2 hours. We held hands and walked. We hugged. We held each other. and we smiled a lot. That's the bond that God has for us. The bond of love.

Then we brought out a few balls and jump ropes. Wow! The kids went happy crazy. The guys brought out an "American Football", which drew some of the older boys out, but many stayed near their rooms and watched from afar. Several, such as John, were very outgoing. :)

After Odeda and Evelyne tired of jump rope, we walked over to watch the Football throwing academy James, Chris, and Eric were hosting. As we watched, a young man introduced himself to me. Adolf. He asked what this game was. I told him American football and offered to get him in on it. He smiled and agreed.... Can you say hidden Football Star! Once James showed him how to the hold the ball, he was throwing perfect spirals, or I should say... Launching perfect spirals. Us girls left football and headed to the babies for a bit.

James and the boys headed over to the basketball court. Here, the crowd of older boys started to slowly draw near. Soon, the court was filled with cheering, laughter, high-fives, and tons of fun, and of course... Friendly competition. This is where James and the boys grew our family with the addition of spiritual sons. Rwanda is closed to adoption. :( Our boys: Patrick, Grimbabazi, & Luc. We are now in email and FB contact with them. They don't ask for anything and don't want anything but the love and encouragement of a family. They have that in us. It's great to hear how things are going in their studies and their career decisions after school. James and the boys' hands were being held and they were being hugged by 16-19 year old boys. Something we're not used to, but that is the beauty of God. He takes us out of comfort zone for His Glory. James had boys who call him "daddy" boys who never had a father, now call him theirs.

After lunch, the children came looking for us. Odeda ran and jumped into my arms. Yes, I would bring her home if I could. We had no way to communicate, but it didn't stop us.

The children entertained us with drums, dancing, singing, and acrobatics. We gave the kids pictures of themselves (hot ticket item), painted nails on boys and girls, made salvation bracelets, played soccer, played football, played basketball, jumped rope, sing praise songs, and sometimes... we did nothing but sit. Adolf found me near the basketball court and hugged me. He said he loves this American Football and wants to come to America so he can play it more... I'm thinking, the Bears need a QB. lol. J/K... he's only 11. He sat with me. I asked if he wanted to go do something else. His reply, "No, I just want to sit with you". Just then, Odeda about squeezed my eyes out of my head. I have a feeling she wasn't letting anyone too close to me. I held back tears... We will be back tomorrow. It felt good to finally tell the kids we would be back tomorrow. But I have a feeling tomorrow won't be so easy to say goodbye.