orphans - The Pilgrim Foundation

I had a life changing week. I don’t think I will ever see my life through my old eyes. My new perspective was acquired among the orphans of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

I must preface this by saying that I don’t consider myself sheltered from the impoverished and the orphaned. I am moved deeply every time I read about a new approach to serving those that Jesus calls “the least of these” and as the director of the Pilgrim Foundation, it is my job to find those who are poor, orphaned, widowed, hungry, downtrodden, oppressed and vulnerable. I seek out those who are at risk of being exploited or trafficked. But until now, I haven’t had a chance to meet them personally in their home environment.

I could say all the obvious things here about being grateful for what I have. Yes, I have more food in my refrigerator right now than most working Haitians will see in a year. My husband’s veterinary practice is far more advanced and equipped than the human hospitals in Haiti. I am wearing a pair of jeans that cost the monthly salary of the people working in this orphanage. Those six to eight employees are responsible for the care of over 120 kids in a desperate environment and they earn enough for one lousy pair of Gap jeans in the US for all that work. Crazy. This contrast exists all over the world and we need to be aware of it and tell our American selves “Enough! I have enough!” We need to employ the self control described in Galatians 5 that is bestowed upon us by the Holy Spirit. He promises it, so let’s use it. We are slaves to our excesses and our materialism.

Enough about that.

What struck me profoundly was how much kids are capable of when there are not enough adults around. I went into this orphanage situation thinking the goal here would be to get all these kids into good loving homes (in the US, of course). No more than 2.5 kids per home with a car seat in each Volvo and their own rooms. What I found was the existence of a pretty good substitute family. These children own nothing, so therefore I did not hear one screech of “it’s mine!!” (what a blessing). No one has their own bed, let alone their own room. When children were eating something and another child took notice, a piece was automatically shared with the hungry one (and they were ALL hungry). These kids get two meals a day and WAIT until all are served to pray a blessing together. What restraint I saw as some kids sat for 30 minutes waiting for the last to be served.

What I saw in this Haitian orphanage was the love and concern of Jesus Christ in the faces of children. If we could teach this to our own, we would be blessed. The children I met were hard to see as “the least”. They were heroic. I’m sure that American psychologists would quickly label them with all kinds of syndromes associated with loss, grief and trauma. But they are incredibly healthy in one regard. They know how to love people. I walked away knowing why “the last shall be first in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matt 19:30). Do yourself the favor of “looking after orphans in their distress”. I promise they will bless you and will keep you from “being polluted by the world” (James 1:27). After all, “the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matt 19:13-15).

-Suzanne

The director of Forgotten Voices International is a friend of mine. He became a friend after I was introduced to his ministry. His name is Ryan Keith and right now he’s in southern Africa to deal with some of the headlines that we only read about: the astronomical number of children orphaned by AIDS, poverty, chronic malnutrition, disease and starvation. The reason I write this is because I want you to know that my family knows Ryan. He and his wife Katie have stayed in our home, gone to church with us, played with our dogs and our kids. We eagerly awaited the results of Katie’s first marathon (she finished in under four hours!) And now he is working his way through Zambia and Zimbabwe to help the children there.

Part of his trip to Zimbabwe is personal for me. Two years ago, my in-laws went on a missions trip to a small village there. We learned of the suffering there as they tearfully showed us their pictures. They befriended a local man and we had the privilege of having lunch with him when he visited the US. He appears to be the only source of support for this impoverished village due to his connection with US relief organizations. He has promised the villagers there that he will not leave them, even as conditions continue to deteriorate. Ryan is going to that village to see if Forgotten Voices can help them. With God leading, I know they will. You see, Forgotten Voices is one of the most effective non profits I have come upon in 10 years of foundation work. Their Board member list looks like a who’s who list of committed, highly educated experts in a wide array of disciplines. Ryan and the Forgotten Voices staff have worked hard to equip the Zimbabwean church (many, many of them, actually) to meet the needs of the people of Zimbabwe. The programs they support educate and feed thousands of orphans, provide employment and to hundreds, and bring hope to the African pastors desperately trying to shepherd and rescue their flock. I know he’ll be able to help those villagers. It’s funny to think of a guy who’s capable of all this playing soccer with my husband and kids in the back yard (and doing monkey impersonations!)

In America, I think most of us have no idea just how bad the situation is in Zimbabwe and how many hurting children live there. My extended family has been there, seen it, and we are so grateful that Forgotten Voices is courageous enough to make a very dangerous trip to one of the most desperate places in the world on behalf of hungry, lonely children. Our family is praying that God will bless him while he travels.

Please consider learning more about FVI and following Ryan’s travel at www.forgottenvoices.org

A Week in Haiti

Ryan Keith and Forgotten Voices


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