Telling Day

We spent the day yesterday traveling to our friends' orphanage. Ours is not open to the public and is a 5 hr drive. The people were very friendly and caring - even taking us out to a nice lunch. The outside of the orphanage was well maintained as was the inside. The best word for the inside though was sterile. Walking into the room with all of the cribs was when the reality of the babies' long days hit. It was the middle of the day and all the babies (about 10) were lying on boards - not mattresses. It was totally silent even though the babies were all awake. There were more special needs babies than we expected, too. The play room had a hard floor and no toys - just walkers. When we were outside, we caught the attention of some 5 year old boys through an open upstairs window. They were precious - calling out to us and laughing. They especially reacted to Toby's clown-like dances. I just hope that the adoption process speeds back up so that more of these kids will find homes.