Dear Reader,

How did you begin your journey in orphan care? I mean, seriously, let’s talk about this. And I’d love to hear your story in the comments. Why are you here?!

At what point did you decide you wouldn’t be an accountant or a beekeeper or a world-renowned balloon artist?

Did you always dream of raising 60 children? Did it come to you in a vision?

You thought it would be easy, didn’t you?

Perhaps you, like me, got lost in the idea that being surrounded by 60 sweet faces would be perpetually and irresistibly beautiful.

Now, though, I have days surrounded by 60 children, and I’m absolutely petrified! Maybe I start to rethink the beekeeper idea…or I could be a stunt-double. Jump off a building?

And then, sometimes I stop and really consider the steps that brought me into orphan care.

All joking aside—

I love Ann Houck’s article in this edition. Her life-history in alternative care is a beautiful picture of compassion, struggle and triumph. Truth be told, we can probably all relate to the pressure and pain written between the lines of her story, when nothing seemed to go quite right. And I know we can relate to the joyful reward of watching a child find safety and love.

Through the good times and the bad, there is a deeply profound reason that we have chosen this profession.

No matter where you are in your story, or even in your day…

Whether you are standing in the endlessly comical and tricky parts, or in the wonderful and tender, never forget what brought you to this place.

I began making the move into orphan care after an evening walk in Ciudad Guzman, Mexico, in late 2014. The city streets were growing dark and not a soul was left in the town square. Lost in my thoughts, I suddenly came across a little boy asleep on a doorstep. He was dirty; his worn shoes lay by his head. He couldn’t have been more than eight years old. My heart broke. I knew then that my life would be spent well, if I used it up to impart love on children like this.

Never forget what brought you here.

You’d make a terrible beekeeper anyway.