Reachout

            Bulgaria

                                     

We are indebted to the many team members who give up precious holiday time to come with us and enable us to make a difference

Here are some of their thoughts

Carol writes

“When I first walked into an orphanage I was overwhelmed by the needs of so many children. As we entered one of the rooms at Gorna Koznitsa we were bombarded by a group of children demanding our attention; reaching up their arms to be held, snatching toys out of our hands, pulling at our clothes. Other children curled themselves up in the corner of the room with their hands over their head trying to protect themselves from the stimulation of all the commotion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One child, I noticed had not been changed for some time so I took him aside, washed him as best I could and put fresh clothes on him.

Another child sat rocking on a bench glassy eyed, so I took his hand in mine and held it for a few minutes.

Another child was attempting to eat a crayon that he had got hold of, so I sat him at a table with a piece of paper and helped him draw a picture. 

Another child stood making silly faces at me, so I imitated him until he laughed.

Suddenly it occurred to me that I had just made a connection with four children.

The connection was only brief, but for that brief moment that child had felt loved and cared for.

And if that were to be the only time in that child’s life where they had experienced God’s love, then it was worth it and I was privileged to be involved in that moment.

                                                            

I heard a story about a man who was having a holiday. One day he was walking along a deserted beach when he saw a man approaching from the opposite direction. As he watched the man, he saw that the man kept bending down, picking something up and throwing it into the water. As he got closer, he could see that the man was picking up starfish that had washed up onto the beach and he was throwing them back into the water.

As the two men met, he said, "Good morning. I was wondering what you are doing."

"I’m throwing these starfish back into the ocean, because if I don't, they will die."

"I understand, but there must be thousands of starfish on this beach and you can't possibly get all of them. Besides, there are hundreds of miles of beaches along this coast and the same thing is happening on every one of those beaches. You can't possibly make a difference!"

The man bent down and picked up another starfish and threw it back into the ocean. He smiled at the man and said, "But I made a difference to that one!"

 

Rachel writes

“We entered Pleven orphanage, & straight away I was confronted with the needs there – little wizened children, legs & arms locked in weird positions, large heads with open sores. I picked them up & cuddled them (though they were so stiff),

                                                          

& loved them however unlovely they looked.  If I couldn’t pick them up because of their condition then I would bend over them & talk or sing quietly & soothingly – especially to the ones who were crying.  I changed nappies, held them while I fed them their bottle (instead of it being propped), mopped up their sick, changed their clothes or bedding - just tried to make them a bit more comfortable.

I have worked with pre-school children with a wide variety of special needs for 22 years, so I brought those skills with me, especially music-making with little ones.  Hand-over-hand I helped them shake the shakers & bells I brought with me.  Some children could hold the instruments & play them, some laughed out loud, some smiled, some recoiled from them so I just sang gently (they were not used to any stimulation).  The songs I sang were my prayers over these children, and God could translate them into their hearts –

One of my most cherished moments is sitting singing softly to a tiny boy with a huge head with big open sores on it as he held my index fingers in his hands, &, as he soothed, I just sat there until his little hands slipped off my fingers.

My reactions to what I saw?  I was horrified & appalled by the state of the children, their care (or lack of it), but I treasure the time I spent with them”