In January of 2007 I had the privilege of traveling with my pastor, Bill Pevlor, to Liberia. While he conducted the “Training Trainers Conference” for local pastors, I focused my time on the children of the orphanage by taking pictures and gathering information about them; information that I could use to share the plight of these children with the world.

Although I knew my job was rather simple and straightforward I wasn’t prepared for how much of an impact it would have on me and how it would change my life forever. Of course I wanted the basic information such as name, age, and grade in school, but I also wanted to get some personal information. I wanted to learn the reasons they were at the orphanage, what their likes and dislikes were and the things that make each child unique and different from the rest.

A number of days after first being introduced to the children I sat down with the administrator of the orphanage, Pastor Linus, and another caretaker to gather the information. Going into this job I knew that this would, at times, be a rather depressing task. These were, after-all, orphans in an extremely poor, war-ravaged country. I sat and listened to stories of parents being killed in the war, teenage mothers unable to care for their children, a parent with tuberculosis, a mother whose new husband did not want a child around and kids brought to the orphanage instead of being put on the street to beg.

Most commonly, the story I heard was a single parent or relative too poor to care for a child. I knew that while these stories were sad, these kids were the fortunate ones, to be at a home that cared for them and provided for them. Countless other children were going hungry, begging on streets, in numerous bad situations, taking care of themselves, seemingly without anybody who loved them or cared for them.

It wasn’t all bad though. I was also told of kids who loved to play soccer, eat, sing gospel songs, pray, write and draw. One child, I was told, loved to cook and would often cry when not in the kitchen. Another child loved to read the Bible and would lead the morning devotion for the other children.

As I sat and learned about each of these children they became real to me. A week earlier they were just poor orphans a world away around the globe and a world away from my world; not much different than many I had seen on TV or in a brochure. A couple of days earlier they became orphans that I could touch and play with and look into their eyes. But now they had become orphans who were real to me, who had personalities with likes and dislikes and who had a story of how they got to this point in their life.

They had become a part of my life that could not be forgotten. It’s easy to forget a commercial about helping orphans in a third world country or even forget meeting somebody, but these children had penetrated a place in my heart and mind where I knew that they could never leave. I also knew that I would not be the same for having met them and hearing their stories. I got more then I bargained for on that trip. I knew I would have the opportunity to help some orphans, but I didn’t know that I would end up being the one who was really changed.

If you are interested in positively impacting the life of an orphan in Liberia and having your heart touched also, please browse The Children page and consider sponsoring an Esther’s Hope child. You can also help today by clicking the Donate button to easily make a donation using your credit/debit card.

[This story continues: Liberia's Children Touched My Life - Part 2]

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