Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Peru- Part 4

"In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace." Ephesians 1:5, 6

Our afternoon spent at the Hogar de Esperanza (Home of Hope) orphanage was a time that I hope I will never forget. Blogging about it is a daunting task. Hogar de Esperanza is a private Christian orphanage that has opened its doors to children of a variety of backgrounds, including extreme poverty, abandonment, and abuse. They have a very nice facility that is clean and spacious. The staff seemed to genuinely care for the children there.

The outside of the orphanage

The playground (notice the background...shows how truly desert Trujillo is)

When our bus pulled up to the orphanage children began to appear from everywhere eagerly greeting us. We brought treat bags of candy and lots of stickers for them and they couldn't have been more excited! Words can't really describe the faces, so here are some pics:











These are the faces of children who love to play, they eagerly reach to be held and they yearn for a family of their own. It was somewhat of a heartbreaking afternoon...both Aaron and I fought back tears as we considered the lives of these precious children. But it was also a sweet time as we were able to love on these kids, see-saw, swing and run around with them!

I was able to spend sometime with some little girls and they were eager to show me their rooms. The children live in rooms of four and each have a cubby/closet where they keep all there belongings. One girl eagerly led me to her closet and pointed out what she had taped to the inside of her door...a photo of parents here in the States who are adopting her and 4 other orphans next month! How wonderful to see the joy in her eyes as she anticipated her adoption. What a beautiful picture of Christ's love for us and our adoption as children of God!



Have you considered adoption? There are 41 orphans at Hogar de Esperanza that would love a family! Pray for one in particular. Her name is Yuliana and she is 13. She needs a family and in July she will no longer be available for adoption. Pray that God would raise up Godly parents who will love her and welcome her into their family.

4 comments:

Christian - Modobject@Home said...

Beautiful. Now I have tears.

Jo-Jo said...

awwww - heart wrenching - makes me want to reach out and grab them up through the computer and love on them!

Amanda said...

I'm crying after that post. Ugh, they are so precious. The ones with glasses were so dear to my heart.

Those kids will be talking about y'all for a looong time.

This journal will mean a lot to you when you want to remember your trip!

Anna Beall said...

I'm loving seeing all your photos, and now I'm ready to head down there and adopt one!