JENNIFER CARREL

A leke a day

Last night I had dinner with two of the caretakers and they were telling me how much they made last month. The amount they made last month is generally the average they make each month. After hearing how much leke they earned, I was simply stunned. These women work so hard. They love these children and it shows through their constant attention to their needs. The monthly wage for a caretaker at the orphanage comes to be about $250.00. Now divide that by 30 days= $7.50, now divide that by 8 hours a day= $.60. Basically these ladies are making ONE leke each hour!!!! The total amount the government spent to pay their employees at the orphanage came to a little over $4500.00. The average yearly income is about $5000.00 but these woman are making only about $3000.00.
Your first thought would be, well Albania is a third world culture so the cost of living coincides to the yearly imcome and everything sorta evens out. But that is not the case here. Because everything must be imported, the cost increases and prices are astronomical! These woman pay more for a jug of milk than they made in an hour! We were considering purchasing a stroller for a family with a 4 year old Down Syndrome boy but the strollers here run around $600!!!! The caretakers last night said they have enough leke to provide food for the table but nothing more. My heart hurt for these women. They deserve more but they continue on with smiles and servant hearts. They are such an example of perseverance despite the hardship of your situation! Pray that the Lord would provide and meet their daily needs and that they would understand and sense their needs are meet not through their efforts but through the grace of a God that loves them!

The time has come and yet the children remain

I am down to my last month here. I am trying to spend as much time with the little ones as possible for I will truly miss this time. For the last 5 months I have been 'mama' to 50 children. They come to me for love, for security, to kiss their hurts, to feed me the last crumb of their cookies, to make them laugh with tickles, for a hug or kiss, or to simply sit in my lap for a second. I love these children as my own and it is hard to know I won't see some crawl for the first time or take their first step. Because over the last 5 months I have cheered and celebrated the many milestones in these little ones lives. It saddens my heart to leave because being mama has been a daily routine and feels so natural. My prayer is one day He will bless me with many of my own. I met a man from PA yesterday that was preparing to leave Albania with his 2 new daughters (13 and 18). He told me him and his wife have adopted 10 other children from all over the world, and the majority of them have special needs. They also have 3 of their own. He said it is such a joy to see how God works in each case; not only providing a family but the hearts that are touched from hearing their story. He told me one of his sons has returned to his home country with the intent to be a Light and the same with one of his daughters. How amazing is that!!!!! The need for families is so great.... is there a part that you could play in the lives of a child around the world?!