An Orphan's Joy at Christmas

Seeing Christmas with the children of our Hope Homes is seeing Christmas the way you never have. The first thing the children do on Christmas morning is wake up and head to church where they worship the Lord with all their hearts, as they celebrate the birth of Jesus. Then they get to eat a special Christmas meal. No fried turkey or fruit cake here, Ii's rice, lentils, chicken, fruit, and some special Indian sweets. 

They squeal with excitement as they run to be first in line to ride the camel, elephant, Ferris wheel, or one of the other rides at the Christmas Carnival.  After the carnival, it's time for the Christmas Hope Chests to be opened and you see a child truly excited - I mean EXCITED! The children open their Hope Chests to find a new pair of shoes, socks, a sweater, a new outfit, paper, books, and pencils for school, a warm blanket, a new Bible, and so much more.

Why do they get so excited over these "basic" things? You see, the children in our Hope Homes don't have a mom and dad to give them gifts, or be there Christmas morning. Before coming to the Hope Home most had never even received a gift before. Seeing a child light up with an unimaginable grin because they have received a new pair of socks - it's like seeing the face of Jesus.

You see, Jesus said, as written in Matthew 25:40,

"Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me."

Giving to others who are truly in need is the only way that you will understand the true meaning of Christmas. It's more than gifts, family, and apple cider. Christmas is about CHRIST! We do these things because Jesus gave all for us and he commanded us to give all for Him, and the way we do that is to lay down our lives for others. It is only in that obedience that we find true joy.

Once, after the children had received their gifts at the Kripa Hope Home, Dr. Samuel Thomas said that one of the boys hid his new shoes somewhere on the grounds of the Hope Home. He had literally dug a hole and buried them! When asked why, the boy replied, "I have lived on the streets where nothing is safe, I have never had something new and I didn't want them to be stolen." We never did find those shoes, so we did give him another pair. We are still waiting for that "shoe tree" to spring forth from the ground one day!

Brother Todd Payne shares of another time, at the Naya Geet Hope Home, while measuring the children for their shoes they would receive, one by one they would come up and put their foot on a stool to get sized. "One boy came up, and little did we know that he had just been taken in to the Hope Home. All of the children had told him that he was going to get new clothes for Christmas. So he comes up to the stool and the shoe guy tells him to put his foot up on the stool. Suddenly, the boy starts taking his shirt off and then starts undoing his buttons on his pants! Thankfully we stopped him before he could disrobe completely right there in front of everyone! We asked him what he was doing and he said, 'I have never had new clothes before. I got so excited to get them I did not hear a word that fellow said.' I told him that this was the shoe guy, and that the clothes guy comes to fit him tomorrow!" 

Joy cannot be bought; it is a gift from God. There are many people in the world who have everything they could ever want, yet they are miserable and unhappy. Their mindset is, "if only I had this I would be happy; if only I had that I would be fulfilled." Things do not bring joy, happiness, and fulfillment, Jesus does.

The children at our Hope Homes in India and around the world are among the poorest in the world. But we praise God that they have true JOY!

Christmas isn't just a season, it is an event. An event that forever changed the world, and countless lives thereafter. I hope and pray you will let Christmas change yours. Christmas is about a gift God gave us. His Son, Jesus, is that gift. It wasn't found under a tree, it was found on the tree at Calvary; What a gift.

Join Hopegivers in bringing joy to the heart of a child by helping us provide the thousands of children we serve with Christmas Hope Chests. You can provide a Christmas Hope Chest to a child, for just $75, or help by providing part of a Hope Chest for just $35.