Medical Director
Anthony Lazzara, M.D.,
SFO

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The Children

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It is 6 o'clock in the morning. From my bedroom on the third floor I can hear the children stirring, making ready to begin their day. They make their beds, clean the bathrooms, bedrooms and lower floors of the home, helping each other as they go along. Breakfast is at 7 and at 8 some go to school, some go to the city for specialty appointments and the remainder are cared for by the day teacher who usually arrives at 8. The mornings are organized chaos and most of the time are more chaos than organized. Trying to herd 50 infants and children into a day's plan is daunting and fraught with mishap but somehow it all seems to come together, more or less. Thereafter the day is filled with phone calls, people calling at the door and occasionally an infant or child whose condition deteriorates and who needs to be taken into the city, an hour's drive away, for specialized or emergency care. On some days I may have to go into the city to buy medications, retrieve donations or resolve a legal matter or I may need to remain in the home to take care of pressing administrative work that has been put off for too long. Then there are the discipline problems which are proper to children. However, since our children come from families mired in abject poverty and the majority do not know who their fathers are, these problems are magnified. I am constantly faced with the worry that perhaps I have been too hard in applying discipline to a particular child or too soft.

In the maelstrom of the day it is easy to become discouraged, to feel inadequate to the task, to feel alone. But usually, when I am feeling at my lowest, something happens that puts everything into focus, that clarifies and enlightens, something that helps prop me up and push me forward. It could be the smile of one of our sick, recovering infants, a parent bringing fruit, eggs or even live chickens in gratitude for their child's care or a new child who needs our help. Suddenly everything is clear: this is what it is all about. In the smile, in the parent's gratitude, in the new child, one finds God.

    God greets me in the mess of my life, in the unfixed ness, in the brokenness. I used to think the opposite, that God got rid of all that stuff But in the Bible God is constantly showing up in peoples lives at the worst possible moment.

Mike Yaconelli

Then he took a little child, stood him in the midst, and putting his arms around him, said to them, "Whoever welcomes a child such as this for my sake welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me welcomes, not me, but Him who sent me". Mark 9:36-37 The children on these pages are the face of God. In them He has become completely dependent on us. Thank you for your support of this work. We love you and wish you blessings of peace and joy.

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