As promised, I wanted to share a little bit more today about Agape. Like I said above, you could hardly call it an orphanage.  It is a home – the children are loved deeply and exude joy.  Agape is a good name.  This is not the kind of orphanage you leave hoping to take the children home to get them out of their circumstance - it is more a reflection of what it looks like to adopt multiple children and take them in as an equal part of the family - a reflection of God's family. The parents, Tonglen and Gloria Diane are a beautiful picture of what it looks like to be a team and to show love to all their children. Andy & I spent the majority of the time we were there playing with the kids - doing crafts, reading books, throwing the frisbee, singing songs, ect. while Thor met with Gloria Diane & Tonglen to talk about more administrative stuff. (The Boaz Project supports them financially & wants to make sure to follow India law in the way that do that.) Anyway, toward the end of our visit I got to talk to Glory Diane for a few minutes. I asked her about the first child they took in and she responded that they got married in 2006 and within a few months had their first 2 children. They got married in 2006. That's 2 years after Andy & I did. Yet, they have taken in 10 children into their family already. They don't have much (as evidenced in the pictures below), but they trust that God will provide because He has called them to care for His orphans. Why do I feel like I have to have my life just the way I want it before responding to the same calling he has placed on my heart? We've known since we got married in 2004 that God wants us to care for orphans as well, but we've been waiting until it fits into "our plan" and "our timeline." Until our own kids are a little older, we have a bigger house, enough money to support a bigger family, & feel like we can handle the chaos & stress of more kids.  Our prayers have been that the Holy Spirit would open our eyes & hearts to His vision for us & our family. We feel like this may be the beginning of what He wants to say to us in our time here…

 Glory showing off the refrigerator that Boaz bought for them.

 Her pantry

 Their dishes... and I complain about not having enough room in my kitchen....

Waving goodbye!