The new movie Orphan, as many of you may have seen the previews for, is now out in theaters. A movie is just that... a story, but it is sad when Hollywood portrays the villain as none other than a 9-year old orphaned girl. I'm not a fan of horror flicks anyway, but this endorsed stereotype of orphans being anything other than children who no longer have families to care for them is sad and at the very least unsettling, especially if you saw the preview.
July 24th marks the release of Orphan, or as the Washington Post referred to it, a:
"depraved, worthless piece of filth...a high-gloss horror show about a well-meaning couple who bring home a 9-year-old girl to join their family, only to discover, way too late, that she's a homicidal psychopath."
Tom Davis, defends the cause for orphans and talks about it here.
And many other articles have been published: example
If you want horror stories about orphans there are many stories concerning the circumstances of the 150 million orphans in this world that will tear your heart out.
I have quite a few moving experiences with orphans. The situation first made itself known to me as a teenager when I traveled to Mexico for mission trips. But in the last 5 years I have seen and heard so much more.
The first orphan who changed my life was a precious little girl named Mirloudes Massenat. I always knew I wanted to have boys, maybe 2... but my first trip to Haiti changed all that. There were only 7 children at Cabaret Children's Home when we arrived in '04. By the end of our stay this little tomboy and I were inseparable. She is the first child to really hold a special place in my heart. In subsequent trips there were a few times she was jealous of other children who had my attention. But as she grows older I know she understands she was the first and I will always love her :) Now I can't wait to have girls too and likely much more than 2 kiddos.
One of the orphans that lil miss Mirloudes was jealous of at first was Davidson Darisme. He was the number one reason for my deciding to adopt. I can't explain what happened to me after my trip to Cabaret/Bercy in January '08, but it was life-altering. Davidson has me wrapped around his little fingers. It's a good thing he doesn't realize to what extent. He came to the Orphanage very skinny and sickly. His older brother Wilguens is a very handsome little boy too. Davi has bad allergies and always runs around with scraped up knees and no shorts if he can get away with it. I will never forget his first trip to the beach when Rusty said he was big enough to go. He sat in my lap, facing me, in the tap tap and happily say Jesus Loves Me all by himself. I have a video of him singing to me again on my last trip in May and confess I watch it over and over sometimes. Cheryl... if you read this and you think there is any way to add him to my paperwork along with Kervenson's I still have that one wish to make it happen.
There are so so many other orphans that have touched and changed my life. A boy at the Children of Love Foundation in La Paz, Honduras. A beautiful, yellow-eyed girl at Bukedea in Uganda. And in the last year I have learned of so many people in my life that were once orphans and adopted at some point: from my neighbor, to a regular at Mosaic, to a friend who invited me on one of these volunteer trips. Last but not least, is the one most of you know about. My baby Isaac is the most precious thing that has ever happened to me. This blog is filled with updates and photos about him...
