JoyBells!

I have been praying since I got here that God would make it clear where He wanted me to serve outside of the Murray family. There are so many different places that I could get involved in that we have checked out throughout the month, but I just wanted to be positive that I ended up in the place that Jesus had already picked out for me.
I had gone to the Blind school as well as an orphanage and a couple of different schools. I was honestly getting a little bit discouraged, because all of these places had things that I could get involved in, and wanted my help, but it just didn’t really feel right. I didn’t want to start helping somewhere and then later find out I didn’t feel like I was where I was supposed to be, but now I’m tied to it. And I didn’t want to over-commit. There is need everywhere you look, but I want to spend my time where I can be most effective-meaning wherever it is that is God's will for me to be. I was talking to Mom about it on the phone one night and she said “don’t get discouraged that you haven’t found your place yet, and don’t be worried about choosing the wrong place. You’ll know it when you see it.”

Well, I’ve found it! And I definitely knew it when I saw it. Jesus made it so clear to my heart.

A while back Mel and I found an orphanage online, and decided it looked like a place we should check out sometime. A couple weeks ago we decided to go try and find it. We looked at a little (and I mean little) google map on their website and took a shot at it. We really had no idea where we were going and so the fact that we actually found it, was God in and of itself. After about an hour & 15 min of driving around and asking about 10 people (and being told about 10 different things) we finally found it.
It is perfect. About two minutes after driving through the gate I knew it was the place. We met Joy, the lady that runs it, and she introduced us to the kids. Oh my goodness, those kiddos melt your heart in a matter of seconds. They are so so sweet. They are clean, happy, well fed, and just genuinely joyful.
JoyBells has 62 kids at the moment and they are all so well taken care of. Their ages range from 6 months to 14 years. A few have one parent who just simply didn’t have the means to provide for their child, but most are orphans. Joy is an incredible woman who has given her life to these kids, and many more like them.

This orphanage is very different from any I’ve ever been to. Joy is a Mama to 62 kids who love and adore her. She has created a true home for these kids. Not just a place where they can sleep and be fed. The kids grow up learning about Jesus and how much He loves them. They are given education and positive attention. The older ones look out for the younger ones, and they all get along so well. Joy has created a safe haven for them. She has given them so much, but most of all LOVE. And that makes a world of difference.

About 90% of these kids are from Ladakh, and have not been back to their homeland since they’ve come to the orphanage. So about six years for most of them. This month the older half of the kids went on “holiday” back to Ladakh. To visit distant relatives (those that have them) and learn about their heritage, see where they came from. Joy said that is so important to her because she’s raising these kids to someday go back and help their people. We were there on a Sunday, and the older crew was leaving early that next morning for their month long trip. A few people had come from Ladakh to escort them back, and the kids had been working on a “presentation” for them for the past month. Well, it just so happened that we got there about 15 minutes before their presentation, and so we were invited to stay and watch. It was so fun! The kids sang and danced for about 45 minutes. They sang songs in English, Hindi, Tibetan, Ladakhi, German, Napali, and Swedish. It was pretty incredible! After their show we stayed and hung out with them for about an hour. It was such a GOOD afternoon. I loved it.

As we were leaving we told Joy we would love to come back and talk to her about how she got started, if this might be a place we could spend some time, and how we could be of the most help. With a huge smile on her face she said-"I would love that. My heart is so happy right now because I know Jesus brought you here at just the right time. I don’t even know you yet, but I’m so thankful you’ve come." That was encouraging to say the least!

This last Tuesday I went back and had the chance to talk to Joy about everything. I’ll blog about it soon.