Fam Friday: Meet My Bulgarian Family

My Bulgarian Family

5:30 a.m., March 19th:  I wake alone in my bed.  

Sadly, the Glediator is away on business.  (Sigh).  The last two nights have brought on dreams where I see the faces of Bulgarian orphans who also sleep alone.  Though they slumber in dormitories or with a few roommates, they are alone in their thoughts; without much identity, purpose and certainly without the guidance of loving parents.  On the wall of a young girl's bedroom in Slaveikov Orphanage in Sofia is penned, "There is nothing, nothing, nothing."

I question God: Why is there so much suffering?  

His gentle reply:  My Son suffered.

And how can these children who suffer be so full of

 love?  (We were smothered with hugs and kisses for eight days straight).

God's answer:  The light of my Son is in all people.  My Son is full of love.

Strangely, this was the impression I had every time we drove away from an orphanage.  You would think I would feel despair and anger, but I felt ever reminded of how much God loves his children.  In a country that has forsaken them, He has not. 

I hear the simple words of Deborah Gardener, CEO of One Heart Bulgaria, to a teenage girl who is afraid to go out in the world after her eighteenth birthday:

"We pray for you."

The young girl cries at the notion and pleads that we remember her.

One Heart Bulgaria is one of two outside organizations that Bulgaria allows into their country to provide aid to their orphans.  A little goes a long way in Bulgaria. I saw firsthand how the donation of a small playhouse from a nine-year old American boy (who held a pizza party with his friends to raise the money) brought so much joy to a previously dull and dirty playroom.  Through other donations, the organization has been able to replace broken windows, doors, provide music time, dance teachers, medical supplies, operations, bedding and clothing where they are very much needed.  To make a difference, visit http://www.oneheart-bg.org.

Photo Album:

 

Boshidara, 2 years old

Boshidara, a baby with Hydrocephalus, lays in her crib unable to be relieved from the ants that are inside her fists, clothes and the wound on her head from her shunt surgery.  I wanted so badly to bathe her.

This was the happiest orphanage we visited.  One Heart Bulgaria provides a music teacher for these kids and they knew how to have a good time.  Here, Sam plays "Do As I'm Doing" while we march along.

We had to travel for three and a half hours with eight people and a 20 suitcases crammed in this van.  Good times.  I think Sam blocked those suitcases from falling on my head the whole trip.  Thanks Sam!

Uncle or "Chicho" Jeremy is a big softie.

Music time with Sam.  Sam was magical with the children.

The little girls to my left have shaved heads (very typical) for easy maintenance and to avoid lice.

Bulgarian children are beautiful.

Touchpoint!

Photo courtesy of Brad Luppino Photography

See the beautiful woman in the center of this photo? If you have an etsy store, run a business from home or work as the CEO of a large corporation, you will want to know her. I had the blessing of touring orphanages in Bulgaria last March with Kelly Anderson. That's a whole different story which you can read about here. But when she isn't helping to run a non-profit organization that aids orphans, she is running her own organization, Startup Princess, which helps women entrepreneurs to get their business off the ground and empowers them to be successful at what they do. Kelly has organized a conference called Touchpoint, on Friday (yes, this Friday, the 11th) where you can attend valuable workshops and network with Utah's finest female entreprenuers from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. With a lineup of nationally acclaimed women in business, you can learn about a range of topics from business strategies to finding balance with business and family. I will be there, ready to learn new skills to take my business savvy to a new level. You can register and look at the courses offered here. Hope to see you there!

Sweet Orphans, Traffic Light Man, and the Pied Piper

This morning we visited Sveta Paraskava Orphanage in Sofia which cares for children ages 0-3 years old.  I was impressed with the toys and colorfully painted walls.  I expected things to be rather primitive (and they were to some degree), but definitely pleasantly surprised.  I became quick friends this little guy (Metodi) after we played a game of catch.  He clung to me for the rest of the day, stroking my hands and arms as I held him.  

You know how when you're little, you think there's someone inside the traffic light, controlling the signals?  See the guy inside his little nest up there?  He IS controlling the traffic lights!  Yes, traffic lights are not yet programmed here.  He probably has fun seeing if he can ruffle peoples' feathers by making them sit at a red for 25 minutes at a time.  I think I would.

This cutie pie (Drago) won me over at the Slaveikov Orphanage for kids 7 to 18 years old.  Slaveikov was awful.  The kind of hell hole I had drawn out in my mind.  Dark, dank, graffitied and reeking of urine, I could not imagine living out my childhood and teens where survival of the fittest is all you sleep, eat and breathe.  Thanks to One Heart Bulgaria, the building has all new windows this year.  Last year, many windows were broken and kids were sleeping in rooms with snow blowing in during the winter.  They also got new doors with locks so that the girls would no longer be molested during the night.  Puke.

Sam Payne, the Pied Piper of Sofia, enchants the toddlers at Sveta Parakeva with his plastic little recorder (purchased with a Little Mermaid songbook ten years go.)  How does he do it?