Blogging with caution…

I will be blogging with caution this summer – for those of you who followed the blog about the loss of Sara’s dad, you might find this blog to be a bit different. When posting to this blog, I must be mindful of various sensitivities, predominantly rooted in the Muslim culture and the fact that Afghanistan is a war-torn nation. So, there will be some subjects I avoid altogether and other subjects around which I will delicately dance – you get the picture. And, speaking of pictures – I am not sure how many I will be posting – I am going to have to play that by ear – that’s a sensitivity, as well.

Sahar and eighteen other Afghan children will be here in less than a month now. In my last post, I spoke of my greatest worry about this experience…it’s not the language barrier or the pending disruption to our household routines. My biggest worry is how our family will ultimately deal with the inevitable act of sending Sahar back to Afghanistan – back to an orphanage, nonetheless, and generally deal with sending all of these children back to a country at war. This has been my greatest concern since we first considered participating in the Solace program. I really had to engage in some deep thinking, prayer, and soul-searching about Solace…until it all finally ‘clicked’ for me. First, it’s important for everyone to understand that adoption is not an option with Afghan children – just Google “adopting children from Afghanistan” and you will quickly learn this. The concept of adoption is not acknowledged in the Muslim culture, and adoption of a Muslim child by a Christian family would be unfathomable. Children in Afghan orphanages stay in those orphanages until adulthood, if they live that long. Thus, the Solace for the Children program offers what is, in all likelihood, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these Afghan children – one chance to experience a different way of life, and simultaneously have medical needs met which cannot be met in their home country. When this clicked for me, I chose the title for this blog, Summer of Solace – because our family is providing a “summer of solace” for an Afghan child…solace from a war-torn country…solace from poverty…solace from many things… And, when you consider the peace-promoting objectives of Solace…those objectives cannot be met if the children do not return to Afghanistan.

As host families, we have begun to learn bits and pieces about all of the 18 children coming to Jacksonville, and have seen pictures of each of them. The most profound and touching story thus far involves a young girl who is reachable in remote Afghanistan only by a two hour donkey ride (I’m not making this up). My understanding of her medical need is that one of her arms has substantial buildup of scar tissue, due to burns she has received – this condition seriously limits use of her arm. Simply keeping track of this young girl in such a remote location has proved quite challenging for the Solace representatives on the ground in Afghanistan.

Out of respect for the Muslim background of these children, this will be a pork-free six week experience for our family and the other host families. We have been asked to avoid shellfish as well, due to potential allergies. For those of you who know how very much I love bacon, shrimp, and oysters…well, you know how I am feeling.

Bryan