Caring for Orphans

Tuesday began w/ a move to a new hotel. check out the Lemon Tree Hotel in Indore, India if you are curious. It is a welcome respite from noise, humidity, etc. Our host was compassionate. "It is very hard to be here, so we try to make our guests from the West a bit comfortable because they work so hard."

At 930am I spoke to a group of relief workers about loving listening as opposed to advice giving (this is a "telling" culture). More and more in their work they appreciate the importance of "seeking first to understand, before being understood" (as Stephen Covey puts it). "Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger". Easier said than done in this culture with crowded conditions and perpetual horn-honking.

Then it was a tour of their offices. AWESOME relief work being done here by such good-hearted people. We connected laptop to wi-fi, then checked some of our writing for translation accuracy. Some friends want us to review some relationship principles w/ them next Saturday, Sunday and Monday (each is a full day one hour drive from our hotel). So, we are resting a bit while we can. Today is meetings 10am - 230p, 4-5, and 630-9p; a light day, relatively speaking.

But back to yesterday. In 2008 Christians were persecuted after being blamed by Maoists for the murder of a Hindu priest. (click here for more information) I and II Peter describe a similar circumstance. Anyway, many were killed, and many more maimed, tortured, raped and injured. Our host was moved by this and acted to care for some of the orphans and surviving adults who fled that region. From 4-8p yesterday we visited the orphanage that a man from Cyprus donated to build for them, and we talked w/ the children and those that work w/ them. What a beautiful refuge for these young wide-eyed, loving children. We saw 135 of them ranging in age from 4-14. Jill and our traveling companion/interpreter spent a long time in the girls dorm surrounded by admiring young ladies (men, even staff, aren't allowed in the girls private living quarters in order to help them feel safe. Many have been molested or prostituted into the "flesh trade").

We had many tears, many times. The children sang for us. I was moved by the love of the staff, and the reality that we were witnessing what James calls "pure religion", 'to care for widows and orphans in their distress.'

I fed four more mosquitoes yesterday, so being out means to be coated with repellant. Sweat from humidity mixes w/ it rather nicely to form a lather that is easy to redistribute all over one's body, so a shower at the end of the day is welcome!

I'm off for a bit of exercise and stretching, then to breakfast, an then the meetings mentioned above.