Just a Shadow of a Boy

We adopted a Shadow Child.

 

A boy born with a disability that dismayed his birth parents so much they abandoned him upon seeing him. A boy who spent months upon months in his first years in and out of the hospital. A boy who spent his babyhouse years confined to two rooms with nothing but cribs and baby toys that sat quietly on the shelves. A boy who struggled to speak and found pointing and gestures to be more effective than words.  A boy who was tested and determined to be severely physically disabled and severely mentally disabled because he couldn't answer the questions on the test.

 

A Shadow child. 

 

A quiet, sweet, tender-hearted little boy assigned to a Level 4 mental institute because of his scary looking physical disabilities and his speech/mental delays.

 

Castaway for life.

 

He was sent to a poor village out in the middle of the countryside to a closed institute where his chances of ever leaving were non-existent in that country.

 

A Shadow Child.

 

A lost cause. A Lost Boy.

 

But for the grace of God.

 

Only by God's grace.

 

Last winter another Shadow Child was transferred to that same poor closed facility out in the middle of the countryside where his chances of ever leaving are non-existent in that country.

 

Another lost cause.

 

A Shadow Child in need of grace.

Another Lost Boy.

 

His name is Otto.

He's a tiny silent wisp of a little boy who has lived most of his life in a baby house where he was deemed unteachable. He spent most days sitting quietly in his bed or on a couch.

 

He was never potty trained or taught to feed himself. He never had anyone read a book to him or teach him anything.

 

His only respite from the boredom of his days came every few weeks when a Christian ministry team came to his orphanage. One missionary fell in love with his sweet little soul and would seek him out.



 She would sit with him, talk to him, play with him.  Though he never talked back to her, he soaked in every minute she gave him.

  

Last summer that same ministry team took him out of that orphanage and for 10 days he played in the sun at camp. He was barely 20 lbs and struggled to walk more than 15-20 feet at a time even with braces.



One of the teeny tiniest ones.  He's the itty bitty little wisp of an eight year old boy in the blue sleeveless shirt.



He loved being held and went from lap to lap over those 10 days, soaking up the attention, the kisses, the hugs.



 He was calm at camp, content with everyone who cared for him. He won hearts with his engaging smile. He loved swimming and jumping on the trampoline and swinging.

 

 

He needed help feeding and had to have his drinks thickened in order for him to drink.

 

They loved him at camp.





They loved his funny little quiet non-verbal self despite his stimming and his short attention span.



They delighted in working with him and making sure he could take part in every activity.  He had never had anyone ever give him such attention and each time someone came near he would lift his arms up to be picked up and held.

 

Just a little wisp of a boy.

 

A Shadow Child.

 

A quiet little tender-hearted boy who was just recently assigned to a Level 4 mental institute because of his physical disabilities and his speech/mental delays.

 

A Silent Shadow Child.

 

A little Lost Boy who  has gone so unnoticed that even though he's been listed on Reece's Rainbow for several months now it was only this week that any money was even put in his grant account.

Otto.



The missionaries grieved when they found out where he had been transferred. They begged to be allowed to go see and the Lord opened the door. Two times they have been able to drive the long drive to that closed facility to visit him.

 

The caretakers there are working with him on feeding himself. They don't have time to feed one little boy when there are so many other boys and so few to help them.

 

He's just a teeny tiny little boy in a facility that houses boys and men.  He's most likely the tiniest one there.

He is now a shed-sitting Lost Boy.

The little silent wisp of a boy who ran free for 10 days at camp last summer is now sitting each day inside a hot shed with 19 other moaning and miserable boys.

It's a soul-sucking place.

Oh how my heart breaks for him.

I am begging for a family.  His list of disabilities seems daunting and overwhelming. Autistic behavior, speech disturbances, mental delay. He struggles to walk, isn't potty trained and needs help feeding.

But ask the missionaries who spent 10 days with him last summer and they will tell you about his smile. His laugh. His reaching out and wanting to be held.  How he came alive in those 10 days.  How he learned some sign language and took part in everything they did.



He may be just a shadow of a boy but he is still deserving of a Mama and a Papa.