Big Family Syndrome || Day 10 - Michaela

What is it like to live in a big family? I've often wondered that, coming from a family of five. Well, this weekend, I lived firsthand with a big loving family. The word orphanage used to make me think of dark grungy buildings, a cruel head mistress, and many unloved orphans. But now after staying at the orphanage this weekend, a completely new picture comes to mind. Children calling the caretakers "mommy and daddy", older ones helping the younger ones, and everyone working late into the night. One boy named Pablo is delayed after living in a state orphanage where all they did was feed him and change his diaper. He doesn't speak and is just learning to walk at four. Yet they have taken him and are teaching him to walk. He enjoys it so much that he squeals with delight. They invest not only in him, but several special needs children. The work is exhausting and dirty, but I truly saw it being done in love. The people there challenged me to love my own biological family, as they love children from a completely different family.