I was in Poland again, visiting the kids. We spent several days taking out guardians, buying gifts, and bringing them back to the children. My favorite video is watching the kid’s pure excitement as we enter the room of the Svitanok orphanage with toys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7VZ1lkfDdQ. The world around these children is a mess. Their country is at war. They have no families to comfort them and little chance of a future without our help. But for one moment, it was Christmas morning, and they were children full of joy. We were all able to get lost in that joy for a time. If I could, I would take every one of these kids and find them forever families to make that momentary joy we experienced a long-term reality. Unfortunately, I have to take what I can get: gradual, incremental changes.
There are many needs. On this trip, I met Dasha, an 11-year-old girl from Shiryaevo orphanage who was born with a clubbed foot. She dreams of being able to play in the park with other children. A life-changing operation is something we can and will do. There are countless other stories like hers. We need to steel ourselves, fight evil with good, believe that “love is as strong as death,” and look for opportunities to act. Like the Frozen song “The Next Right Thing” (I’m a sucker for cartoons):
Break it down to this next breath, this next step
This next choice is one that I can make
So I’ll walk through this night
Stumbling blindly toward the light
And do the next right thing
