Tyler – Luzon Media
At Open Door Orphanage, it’s hot, humid, tiresome, and AWESOME! The kids steal your heart immediately; there’s nothing you can do about it. Their excitement for anything, generosity, and loving nature draw you in, and before you know it you’re hooked.
The youth at Open Door are a bit more reserved. Even after being there a few days, we still didn’t feel like we saw them very much or knew them well at all. The girls were busy throughout the day helping with cooking, laundry, and trips to the market. The boys helped with church functions and construction of new classrooms for the school. Their tasks explained why we didn’t see them very much, but even when we did, we realized it would take some creativity to know them better.
The boys immediately opened up to Derek when basketball came into the picture, so they opened up to me by association. Becca came up with an interesting solution for the girls. Her passion for teenage girls and her background in psychology helped her build a bridge between the girl youth at Open Door and the team.
Becca: We wanted to do something special for the girls one night because we hadn’t had much time with them. We arranged a secret get together in one of the classrooms. When they arrived, we took out paper, colored pencils, and stickers. Then the fun began. We told the girls to write down their favorite things and decorate their “personality pages” any way they wanted to. It really allowed us to see into their minds to know what they liked, allowed them to have some creative expression, and gave us glimpses of their personalities. They really enjoyed making their pages, and we loved finally getting the chance to bond with them.
As we worked on our pages, the younger kids started showing up. Eventually, nearly every child in the orphanage was drawing a page or writing a note for another kid. They were all gladly sharing the twenty colored pencils we brought – not a likely occurrence in America.
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| The kids want to participate |
Later that night, we were able to talk with the girls about their pages. They were beginning to trust us more. Some of the girls even shared their stories of their lives before Open Door and their testimonies. It was a beautiful experience to see God claim such a victory through something as simple as colored pencils.
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| And it all started....... |
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| ...with pencils |