It’s not hard to love the children at Gentle Hands. All they want is love and they freely give it in return. Becky found herself completely attached to one girl immediately after arriving at the orphanage, and learned an unexpected lesson from her.Becky: I met Raisa the first week of working here at Gentle Hands. The bond was automatic and so strong! Even though I only knew her for a few days, I quickly became the only person who could stop her crying. She even called me “Momma.” After the first week I was here, she went back to her family, but I didn’t know she would be leaving Gentle Hands. It was so hard to say goodbye. She has been in my thoughts and prayers every day since she left. I think about her and how much I want to see her every time we go back to the area she lives in for ministry.
I didn’t watch as she was given back to her family. I didn’t want to know what her family looks like, I thought it would be too hard to watch. I was trying to detach. The experience taught me how to say goodbye and let go – something I’ve never had to do. I really didn’t expect to learn something so profound from someone I had only known for a week. It made me love the children more because I learned we don’t know how much longer we will see the children and get to love on them. And we don’t know if they will feel as much love at home as we give them while they are with us. That’s what I often think about when I think of Raisa, and my heart still breaks for her. I don’t know how her life is now, but I hope and pray that she is with a family who loves her just as much or more that I did in that short amount of time.
