I've been waiting to post until I got to visit both orphanages! What an incredible two days it has been. The first day we visited an orphanage named Frances Gaskin, where about 30 children live with a husband and wife that have been married for 23 years. What an incredible example of marriage--they have 30 kids and they were still flirting like high schoolers! Today we went to the second orphanage, named Danny Feeney, that has about 40 kids living there. From the minute I got out of the car, I had what felt like hundreds of little hands all over my entire body. In the three different orphanages I've visited in my entire life, one thing is never different. The kids love touch. No matter how old they are, and no matter what is going on, they want your hand to hold. I wish I could rock every one one of them to sleep every night. We didn't get back until late, so I just ate rice with pumpkin soup (we have a precious cook we call "Ma Mary"), and took a shower under the stars on one side of a cement wall, with a night club on the other side. Nothing like having a little back up music to your shower!

Since I've been in Liberia, I've experienced about as many emotions as I think one person can have. However, through every emotion, one thing remains the same. God constantly whispers to me, "Love one, Haley." In the past two days, I've seen about sixty orphans. There's a  part of me that just wants to be the mother to all sixty of them. I would love to be able to give them all enough food for them to be perfectly healthy, to help them with their homework, to dress them in the morning, and rock them to bed at night. But I also know that I can't do that alone. I am one person. I have two hands. And then I remember, I love those kids with all of my heart, but my love for them pales in comparison to the Father's love for them. He is at work all over the world, fulfilling his promise: "I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you." Take my life for instance. If you would have told me my senior year of high school that in two years I would be in Africa for six weeks, I think I would have laughed and cried all at the same time. But God's plans are so much bigger than ours, and He will make a way for His children to be taken care of. So, because I know His heart is so big for His children, I am able to step forward with His command to, "Love one."

Since before I came to Liberia, I've been thinking about a challenge for myself, as well as anyone who would like to join me. In the Bible, Jesus tells us that, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look out for orphans and widows in distress and keep oneself from being polluted by the world." --(James 1:27) I think it's interesting that Jesus specified two kinds of people that he wanted us to help in particular. Of course He had a heart for all people, but I think he specified these two because they have especially fragile hearts. Orphans and widows can both feel abandoned and forgotten, and I think that is the last thing that God wants them to feel. So, the challenge is for everyone to have a genuine, constant relationship with one orphan and one widow. I know this sounds time consuming and it may be, but I think that God will smile if he sees His children taking time to care for these two special kind of people. And I also think that in the long run, we will gain so much more from getting to know them than they will from us. Even if it's just for an hour every week, take the time to show them they are loved and remembered. If you're having trouble finding someone to visit, try asking a pastor. They usually have a list of people within the church that are in need of some company! 

p.s. I'm having a hard time uploading pictures to the blogger website, but I'm trying my hardest to upload them to Facebook! Love you all!