A Baby with a Grin to Die For

Running an orphanage and living as a missionary in the bush is not easy. I'm sure you've guessed that by now. One of the hardest tasks we have is when a baby is brought to our door. The mother in me, three years ago, would have said, "bring them all! throw the gates wide open"! But it isn't that simple.

When a baby is brought to our door we have to determine whether it really needs a home. There are many times we have to decline to accept a baby. 

It might be because there is no paperwork accompanying the baby.

Other times we are not sure if the people bringing the baby are simply looking for monetary compensation.

Still other times we are not convinced the baby is an orphan. What if we accept the child and the parents come looking for it later.

Sometimes I breathe a sigh of relief when the decision is finally made not to accept a certain baby. The reason?--not every baby brought to our door is cute and cuddly. Sometimes they're downright ugly--at least in my opinion--a real 'only a mother could love it' face. This reason alone is good enough for me to close our doors. Think I'm hardhearted and cold? There are times I take one look and can just tell, "this baby is gonna grow up to be a troublemaker!"

Don't believe me?

Take a look at this baby who was brought recently.

• I'm very sure there was no paperwork accompanying this guy.
• I'm extra sure the people who brought him just wanted cash
• And I'm extra doubly sure I would never, ever want this guys parents coming to claim him.

Thankfully, not all babies are quite this sinister.

Last Sunday we welcomed a new baby into our home. 

Meet little Jack!

He is a real sweetheart. His mom passed away August 21st and the family brought Jack to us the very next day.

He's had a tummy bug but seems to be coming out on the other side--not before passing that darling bug on to at least one other child. Baby Peter now has the bug and yesterday, as I held him in my arms, he leaned forward and vomited all over Moriah. Poor little girl! She was totally horrified. For the rest of the day that was all she could talk about. A tattler by nature this was a juicy little tidbit that she just had to share.

The addition of Jack brings our numbers to 16! Love their sweet little faces! Not a troublemaker in the bunch--well, at least not too much trouble.