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"Was it worth it?" I asked myself.
This was the question swimming around in my mind as I touched down at Heathrow airport on the evening following my trip. I,
along with 14 others from England, Bulgaria and America, had spent the past week in Lom, Bulgaria working with children at
the local orphanage.
From playing games to leading crafts, and even a bit of playground repair, our team was committed to showing Christ-like love
to the children at the orphanage through our efforts.
The kids loved it. Playing and interacting with their new 'foreign friends' (despite the language barrier) brought them immense
joy - at least, that's the conclusion I made from their ear-to-ear smiles. Each day our team was greeted with hugs and high-fives
from kids who were waiting on the street outside the orphanage for us to arrive. And every evening, after a long day of activities,
the children would eagerly ask if we would be back tomorrow.
With such fond memories of this trip, why have I questioned its worth? What part of sacrificing 15 people's time and money
for the benefit of poor orphans in Bulgaria makes me wonder whether the trip was a good idea? I believe it has to do with
the fact that we knew before going to Lom that the children would have to suffer heartache. After a week of building trust,
forming relationships and displaying unconditional love our group departed, leaving the children to cope with the loss of
their new friends.
However, for six days these children were loved as God loves. Christians know that our relationship with Jesus is not without
its heartache, yet we overcome the brief moments of pain in order to revel in the bliss of being adored by God. The tears
on the children's faces on our final day clearly showed their sadness about our leaving, but if a moment of pain was the price
paid for a week of seeing Christ's love personified, then yes, this trip was most definitely worth it.
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