Just Like a Family

A family. That's what I experienced at Jardin de Maria Girls' Center in Ngombo, Sri Lanka, on a visit there earlier this month.


This center, just a year old, is home to 25 young girls, aged five to 14, all of whom were orphaned by the tsunami that devastated this Asian nation in December 2004. In fact, contributions to the Southeast Asia Solidarity Fund helped to build this orphanage, and continue to support its loving service to these children.



Missionary Sisters from the Philippines staff the center, caring for these girls as mothers would. They cook and do laundry, and the children also help with the chores. They teach them English and other subjects. Above all, they offer these youngsters unconditional love, telling them also of the great love that Jesus has for each one of them. Their loving service and this message is a stabilizing force in their lives, especially after the fear and confusion that followed the tsunami.


One of the Sisters told me that they have seen the transformation in these girls. "They have found comfort and hope with us and one another," this Sister said. "They have become a family."


As I returned to the United States in mid-July, I whispered a prayer of thanksgiving for each of you in this "one family in mission," grateful for your prayers and your support of the poor of the Missions. May the Lord bless you for your generous missionary hearts!