Monica

Hello! I am feeling much better today, and despite being weak and very sore, all is well. Praise God! Unfortunately, another girl came down with the stomach thing last night, and an additional girl is nauseous. Will you please pray that everyone feels better before their trek to the Sahara Desert tomorrow? I’m all about sharing, but I feel awful about sharing this thing!

I was so happy to be back at the orphanage today. It hit me just how much I’m going to miss my new kiddos and the routine that I have come to know so well. I wanted to share with you today about a wonderful woman whom I have had the chance to get to know.

Monica is a woman from Spain whom I have seen in the playground with two little boys since I have been here. I was mesmerized watching her contagious smile and constant energy as she ran around with two (very fast) toddlers. I came to learn that she has come to adopt a little boy in the toddler class that I volunteer in. “S” is about 16 months old I believe, and a total delight to be around. In addition to S, her friend from Spain is also adopting a little boy! “M” is older at 20 months, and he is much more quiet and reserved, but very sweet nonetheless.

For the past month, Monica has come to the orphanage every single day, seven days a week, both morning and evening. The only time she leaves is when they go down for a nap, and she is always in charge of both boys when she is there. They eagerly await her arrival in the morning and cling to her throughout the day. She’s one of those people that radiates positive energy, and all the kids love her (Heck, all the volunteers and nurses love her too... )! Monica has moved to Morocco temporarily as she patiently waits for the adoptions to be finalized. She feeds them, loves on them, and even helps out in the other rooms once they have gone to sleep.

Her goal is to have the boys’ home by the end of October. This would mean the process would have taken a year from beginning to end, and you can see the excitement in her eyes as she and her husband continue to make tiny steps toward their goal of finally having a family. Unfortunately, so many things could still go wrong, and it’s never a 100% guarantee until the child is in your arms and you’re heading out the gate of the orphanage. There are visa problems, questions if they really are Muslim (which they are!), and the never-ending paperwork that continues to come out of the woodwork. It’s great to know that Morocco is so entrusted to the well-being of their children and that they want to be as thorough as possible. However, I can only imagine how exhausting it is to have the question of “if” in the back of your mind as you fall in love with a sweet little soul!

And that she does. She chases those boys around, loves on them like they’ve never been loved, and dreams of what is to come at home. I joked with her that, because trash has been the only toys they’ve known, she needs to go out and buy a bunch of candy and leave only the wrappers on their bedroom floors so they’ll feel at home. Candy wrappers or all of Toys R Us, I know these boys are in good hands. It’s so heartening to know that these boys will forever be taken care of by people that love them very very much.

Tomorrow is my last day at the orphanage. This glimmer of hope that some of these children will be adopted means the world to me, and is helps me to leave on a hopeful note.

Yet even more so, I know it means the world to them. For that, I am grateful for people like Monica.