Saturday, July 26th, 2014

Peru Team Day #1

Saturday, July 26th

     Today the rest of the team and I traveled to and orphanage about 45 minutes away from where we were staying. At first I was worried about going there and having my heart broken because of the images movies give us in films like Annie or Oliver Twist however I was in for a shocking surprise. When we got to the orphanage I was greeted by a boy probably about 5 years old who shook my hand and then gave me a high five. I know it seems small but when you go in with the mindset that I had, it was actually pretty awesome. We got into the orphanage and a woman with a VERY strong southern accent gave us the rundown of how the orphanage came to be and all of the backstories that went along with the orphanage. We then started the tour of the place. About 5 minutes into the tour, a young boy about 4 years old walked up to me and put his hands up like he wanted me to pick him up. I picked him up thinking he just wanted to see over the crowd, however that was not his intention. From the minute he looked up at me to the minute I left the orphanage, I did not put him down once. Not because I wanted to hold him, but because every time I tried to put him down, he held on for his life. His name was George and he gave me my own private tour of the place showing me where he slept and where he liked to play. I spent the rest of the day with him playing and exploring the orphanage. When it was time to leave, I had to pry him off me and set him down next to one of the nanny’s at the orphanage. It was hard saying goodbye and I will pray every night that someone visits that orphanage and falls in love with him just as I did. I know that boy had an extremely large impact on my life and I can only hope I had an impact on his

-Eli McCabe

CAM A