Laughing All The Way...(Home)

On Monday morning, Lesbi, our Director of Operations, and I (Erica) drove with the social worker from the local child welfare office to an orphanage in San Pedro Sula. We pulled up to the gate, where the security guard checked our credentials and opened the gate, and we entered the completely walled-in complex where over seventy kids live. We waited as the social worker went to meet with the orphanage director.

A few minutes later, four small kids, all under the age of seven, came racing out of the main building, their arms filled with grocery store bags full of their clothes and toys, and the social worker followed behind them. They ran to our car, tossed their grocery bags in the opened back gate, and jumped in the back seat.

It was hard to understand them for the first few seconds as they caught their breath from running, but finally, between the laughter, they shouted, "WE'RE GOING HOME TODAY!"

A few minutes later, we were making the short drive to the child welfare office, and the car was LOUD. All four kids spent the ride singing Christmas carols. It was a loud and fun trip to the child welfare office where just about an hour later, they would sit before a lawyer with their family, finalize the legal process of their reunification, and get to go home!

I couldn't help but think about how much more fun Christmas carols are when you are at home with your family. I thought about how Christmas music has to be pretty sad when seeing family isn't a possibility, especially for a young kid. Just think about the lyrics to some of your favorite Christmas songs... most of them mention family and being together. And as they sang (more like screamed) the lyrics to Christmas songs, these four weren't sad. They were overwhelmed with happiness.

And we were happy, too, knowing these kids would be with family this Christmas and every Christmas to come.

These are four of the ninety (and counting) kids who will spend Christmas at home with their families this year because of your support in 2022!

We hope to provide a way for even more kids to return home and be with family in 2023, and we know with your support, we can make this a reality.