In awe...

These past two days have been overwhelming. There are all sorts of kids here, about 120 of em, all between 0-18 years old. These kids all have parents that are/were not able to take care of them. Many have been abused or neglected or have some other sad story. Many are very, very sweet and cute at first sight, but honestly, not all of them are. 

And yet these employees give them their heart. They love these kids so much. Let me tell you...

There's this one amazing teenager here that flies to Manila from Australia during every school vacation, cause she loves these kids. 

The owner of the orphanage sometimes does not know how to pay the bills at the end of the month, but she faithfully prays for funds and she always gets what she needs! She does not like Manila at all, but she just keeps going cause she loves these kids so much. 

Today one of the toddlers was crying in her chair and said: "I don't have a family." One of the moms heard this and quickly said: "You will have a family soon..." 

Another employee sings songs with these kids 3-4 times a week with a consistent huge smile on her face. Some kids start off shy. A few singing sessions with her and you don't recognize the child anymore. She gets them to sing with one beautiful, loud voice. Today it was: "You make me brave..." All cause she loves these kids so much. 

Jhay's "mom" took Jhay to her house on her days off, together with his best friend, because she loves these kids so much. Her thanking me for taking care of Jhay felt way out of place... 

The love and faith that these employees have for these kids is tremendous. They have left me in tears and in awe...

Then about Jhay... (I happen to be quite awake tonight, so I'll just keep writing.)

Jhay is one huge bundle of joy. He giggles, laughs, talks (a lot!), sings, asks for attention (be prepared, all you aunties and uncles...), eats well (still messy...cute messy though), cute little voice (actually everything is cute and little), he pees a lot and he actually got the chicken pox on the day we arrived! 

We've got lots of stories to tell but let me share these 2 shorts ones: 

Yesterday, Taco was downstairs with the toddler group and one of em grabbed Taco's hand. Out of nowhere, Jhay comes rushing towards Taco, obviously mad cause he pulls this kid's hand out and grabs HIS daddy's hand!! 

The other one is from tonight. Esmée and I decided to go outside to get some ice cream after we put Jhay to bed. So we read his book, prayed for him and said, "Bye Jhay! See you tomorrow!", ready to go out the door, leaving Jhay behind with Taco. Out of the blue, Jhay starts crying! Not a demanding cry, but a sad cry. More like sobbing. And he wouldn't stop. My heart broke... I came rushing back in, he cried a bit more and slowly recovered. I decided to stay with him till he slept, secretly feeling proud of my new son. The attachment process has begun!

Ok, that's it for now! Tomorrow, at about 12:30, we will be saying goodbye to this precious orphanage and their employees and all Jhay's friends. We'll bring tissues...

Because we need a visa for Jhay to get out of the country, we need to wait 10 days for his visa to arrive. We dont mind! We'll be off to one of the many beautiful islands of the Philippines, Boracay! 

Bye now!