getting into a rhythm

Rosemary refers to me as the other mama. So... here are the two mamas!

St. Mary Kevin Orphanage Motherhood is definitely starting to feel like Camp Change the Truth. We arrive at 9 or 10, and everyone now just goes to their post and begins working, kids at the ready to participate. We are in a groove. Sounds of laughter and singing come out of the room where Melissa is conducting group theraplay. Children who are now artists concentrate intently on their drawings. Quiet envelopes the room where Ann does individual therapy with the children who have come here from Northern Uganda. Kids mug for Lynne's camera and giggle when she points it in their direction.

I heard a rising joyful murmur from one of the classrooms today and went to see what was going on. Carol had just passed out the sixty pen pal letters Ann had brought with her from her daughter's 4th grade class in Kansas. The children were reading their letters aloud in unison. The buzz that was drifting from that room was unbelievable. The kids could not have been more excited about their new friends and quickly began the task of responding by writing their own letters back. I noticed many of the children carrying their letter around with them for the remainder of the day.

We are each having our own personal and profound journey here. It is emotional, and it is uplifting, and it is sad, and we are grateful for the opportunity to see life from a different perspective. I think this experience is touching and changing us all.

The children have fallen in love with the Change the Truth team. I could not have asked for a more loving group of people to introduce to the staff and kids at St. Mary Kevin's. We are bringing joy and healing into these lives - and yes, into our own.