Town Orphanage for older kids

Looking over my posts, I realized that I have focused a lot on the village orphanage , and very little on the town Orphanage. It was however, the town orphanage that first brought us to Central Asia, in a round about way.... Let me fill you in.
Julie and I where all excited about joining a team from Millbrook on a 2 week missions trip to Xxxxxxx. We had all our project fundraising done and were getting ready to pack our bags..... that's when things started to unravel.... There had been some political unrest in Xxxxxxx and, as a result, humanitarian aid organizations had been asked to leave. It became apparent that we were not going to get visa's and, if we did, we did not want to bring attention to our friends there. That's when Ed (Loads of Love) suggested that he could use our help in Central Asia.. He had been supporting workers there for several years, and a real opportunity for impact had presented itself. Earlier that year, the director of the orphanage for older kids in town had left town, and so too did anything of value at the orphanage.... including everything right down to the heating pipes. Realizing the difficulty that these kids were now facing, and the fact that the city did not have the resources to set this problem straight, the Mayor came to Ed "Loads of Love" and Elder Yang "Mercy Foundation", and asked if they would consider taking over the orphanage. They both agreed . So we got busy at the last moment and raised more money to help out. Two weeks later we arrived with 5 grand in our pockets and a team ready to work. When we first arrived we were given the tour. As we wandered around outside we came across the washrooms..... I have left the doors closed here... you're welcome... any way... we were told that this was a very busy washroom because it serviced the hospital as well - because it was so much nicer then theirs - if you can imagine. Inside we found dirty run down rooms with almost no furniture, and gaping holes in the walls where there once was a heating system. The kitchen consisted of a hot plate on the floor, and doubled as the laundry room. The wiring was a disaster....basically the building was nothing more than a shell. The thing that struck me the most was that in the middle of this whole mess, lived a dozen precious kids. I was told that these were street kids...... where do three year old street kids come from.?.... After only a few days on this project, we heard about a small orphanage in the village that was also in a desperate situation. Knowing that Elder Yang had everything under control, we headed for the village. I really look forward to being able to spend more time with these kids when we are there. We already have bags in town full of craft supplies that the girls can bring with them to the orphanage. It does not take much to bring happiness to these kids..."A smile is all it cost's to let some one know you care."