What A Difference A Year Makes

Last year this time we were vetting children for our orphanage. We decided to proceed in a deliberate manner and select only a few children. We wanted to fully understand and experience what it means to operate an orphanage, particularly the role of parenting children from destitute backgrounds with no known parents. At the end of the summer in 2013, we had selected three children, but one had to be released to a relative that seemed to have appeared from nowhere. In any event, we began the school year with Elbison and Stanley in first grade.

As recounted in previous blogs, it has been an eventful year at COHH. We are blessed to have very thoughtful and committed teachers, caregivers and staff – our team! The broader story of the activities at the school are for another blog. In this blog, we want to talk about Elbison and Stanley. Our two boys have grown a lot over the past year. We have seen them become comfortable with their caregiver and teacher. We have celebrated birthdays and holidays as a family. The boys have learned a lot about personal hygiene, doing chores, preparing for school (particularly homework) and making friends. The quiet, somewhat introvert personalities, have been replaced with eagerness, inquiring minds and, of course, happy faces.  They have found a home and a family at COHH and they love it.

The boys are now enjoying their school vacation before beginning summer school. They are looking forward to being with their teachers and friends for an eventful summer school program. Next fall, we hope to add more children to our orphanage and our school. We pray for a year that will be as successful as the past year, if not more so.