“Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” –Mark 10:14-15
Today was our third day in India and the first day of ministry for our team. At 10am we left and took the hour ride to the orphanage. This was the first time we have ventured more outside of the city and we saw the India we had been waiting to see. I cannot even begin to accurately paint a picture for you, because it was sensory overload.
Crowded market streets with hundreds of people and the insane driving with no traffic laws consisted of people in cars & buses, many walking, others on bicycles pulling their belongings, many in rickshaws, others on motor bikes, and a few on wagons pulled by donkeys. Everyone was weaving in and out, all dodging one another while also avoiding the cows and water buffalo that roam the streets and seem to be on every corner. I felt like I was in a live version of Mario Kart.
We finally arrived at the Asha (Hope in Hindi) House and made our way inside. We were greeted by Victor and his wife, Simini, who started the orphanage, and Lynce (pronounced Lynn-See), the other young woman who helps run the orphanage.
34 children live at the Asha House with the average age being between 4 and 7. A number of the older and more educated children were at school when we arrived. We will be visiting the orphanage 3 times a week (not including Sundays for church) and will have a teaching schedule with the children, but today was really about meeting and playing with them, holding, hugging, and kissing them. 
We played many games like ring-around-the-rosy and tag, sang songs and did silly dances, and just held them and let them sit in our laps. While singing Jesus Loves Me and doing a hand clap to the beat with a little girl named, Rukshana, she looked directly into my eyes and stared at me with humility. She lacked self-sufficiency and I knew when she locked her dark, tiny hands into my big, white hands, she trusted me, already.
In that moment I silently talked to God as we continued to interact, praying for her and the other children, and the work we will be doing here over the next three months. But I was also thanking Jesus for her. For it was her humility, her lack of self-sufficiency, and her trust that is the childlike faith that Jesus says is able to accept the free gift of grace and mercy that is offered to us through Christ.
May we all approach Jesus and receive the kingdom of God in the same way.
Happy Birthday, Mom! Miss you and love you!
Corey, I’m eating. Had rice with some type of sauce on top for lunch & dinner.
