We recently had the opportunity to visit a local Japanese orphanage. This is where they live. They share rooms, two kids per room. They have a good sized gym where we held our event, though they didn't have any balls to play with.
The kids patiently wait for the events of the day! 
My hospital's chaplain's office had a tree with candy canes on it, bearing the names, ages, and sizes of the orphans. We could pick up a candy cane and buy for the child and then return the candy cane with wrapped gifts to the chaplain's office so they knew who got what!
I didn't find out about this opportunity to buy gifts until too late, but I was able to bring the whole family to help with the various games and crafts. The boys had a great time mingling with the orphans and other children that came to visit. They were able to get in on the food and games. Our booth was the cookie decorating booth and it had it's perks! Cameron got to eat all the broken cookies! When the activity at our booth died down, we let the boys run through all the booths for some fun and games.
This little guy is adorable! He was all banged up in the legs and head, just a rough-houser I guess. He was a happy little guy! This is the one I wanted to take home!
It was great to see their smiles!
I didn't find out about this opportunity to buy gifts until too late, but I was able to bring the whole family to help with the various games and crafts. The boys had a great time mingling with the orphans and other children that came to visit. They were able to get in on the food and games. Our booth was the cookie decorating booth and it had it's perks! Cameron got to eat all the broken cookies! When the activity at our booth died down, we let the boys run through all the booths for some fun and games.
This little guy is adorable! He was all banged up in the legs and head, just a rough-houser I guess. He was a happy little guy! This is the one I wanted to take home!
It was great to see their smiles!
Overall, our favorite part was watching the kids receive their gifts with big smiles and victory dances . The chaplain had to put a halt to all the gifts that people were bringing! Each child received at least 4 gifts each! There were tons of gifts left over too! We experienced the truth of the verse that says, "It is more blessed to give than to receive! "
This little guy can barely see over the top of his bundle!
Then they read the Christmas story and did a cheesy job of acting it out, but nonetheless .... Then "Santa" gave out the gifts to each kid. The orphans wouldn't open their gifts, we had to prompt them to open them. They were very appreciative and carefully examined each thing they got. Some children didn't even open some of their packages, guess they thought it was too pretty to open! We helped clean up the gym where all this was taking place and moved everything outdoors for a traditional Christmas dinner on the grounds. I wanted to hold some of those kids, but some Americans had already grabbed them up. Evidently, the hospital does some sort of function with this orphanage on a monthly basis. The First Class Petty Officers of the hospital get small groups together to go once a month for grounds keeping and BBQ at the orphanage. This event was the biggest event of them all. I think we Americans outnumbered the workers and residents! It was great! Cameron wanted to have "some of those Japanese kids over for dinner and to play with them!" Daniel and Cameron were trying to think of some of their own toys that they could give to these children. We will definitely be making another trip down there!
This little guy can barely see over the top of his bundle!
Then they read the Christmas story and did a cheesy job of acting it out, but nonetheless .... Then "Santa" gave out the gifts to each kid. The orphans wouldn't open their gifts, we had to prompt them to open them. They were very appreciative and carefully examined each thing they got. Some children didn't even open some of their packages, guess they thought it was too pretty to open! We helped clean up the gym where all this was taking place and moved everything outdoors for a traditional Christmas dinner on the grounds. I wanted to hold some of those kids, but some Americans had already grabbed them up. Evidently, the hospital does some sort of function with this orphanage on a monthly basis. The First Class Petty Officers of the hospital get small groups together to go once a month for grounds keeping and BBQ at the orphanage. This event was the biggest event of them all. I think we Americans outnumbered the workers and residents! It was great! Cameron wanted to have "some of those Japanese kids over for dinner and to play with them!" Daniel and Cameron were trying to think of some of their own toys that they could give to these children. We will definitely be making another trip down there! 
What great pictures and what an exciting experience!!! Praise the Lord for the opportunity. Love you guys! Miss Kelly
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