Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” [ Matthew 19:14 ]
I’m grateful to have commenced our unofficial “farewell tour” with another day spent serving alongside the kids and staff at the Agape orphanage not far from our home city in China. You may remember from my previous posts that the children there live with Brittle Bone Disease, a condition that makes their bones break very easily. It may make their bodies weak, but it does not hinder their spirits — or limit their energy!
According to the staff, all of the children currently living at the home were abandoned by their parents early in their lifetime, as the parents began to recognize that something was wrong with their child’s development. In China, it is very common for parents to abandon children who are born with disabilities. One reason for this is China’s One Child policy. Although restrictions on the number of children Chinese families can have are easing, families have generally been limited to having only one child for the past few decades. Because they only get one shot at having a child, parents will often abandon them if they are unhealthy so that they can try again to have a healthy, able-bodied child. Another reason they may abandon the children is because the family knows it simply cannot afford to care for the child’s complex medical needs. As a result of their abandonment, the kids at Agape ended up at state-run orphanages, but were later sent to live at the Agape home because it specializes in caring for children with this particular condition.
Many of the children living at Agape do get adopted before they “age out” of China’s child welfare system around the age of 14. They all are hopeful that they will one day be part of a “forever family.” For some, however, that opportunity does not come in time. To respond to the needs of those children who age out of the system, but are nowhere near able to live on their own, Agape started an on-site bakery where the kids can live and work, experience family and community and be close to a local hospital that is equipped to care for them when they are in need. And their baked goods are delicious!
Although we haven’t been able to visit as often as we would have liked, our time spent at Agape will always be a memory we cherish of our time in China.
Here are just a few of the memories I’ll cherish from our final visit to Agape:
Going for a walk with Addison, Peter, and Doug. Even though it is difficult for the children to walk very far without assistance, they still enjoy being outside. Some of them need to use the aid of walkers, wheelchairs, or strollers, but they ask to go outside any chance they can get!
Precious faces.
Playing with toys and making crafts.
Joseph playing Uno. He wins every time!
Doug hamming it up for the camera any chance he gets.
When we arrived in the “Little Kids” house, I wanted to ask the kids if it was ok with them if I took some pictures before I started taking any. As my Chinese friend began to translate for me, the little guy above, Doug, asked if he could have his picture taken with me. Such a little ham!
The warm and welcoming hearts of the kids is a perfect reflection of the love they receive at Agape. I’ll miss these precious ones.
