It is always an amazing privilege and wonderful opportunity to visit children from all over the world in one central location; almost like a miniature, land-based Logos Hope. In Beirut I visited Kids Alive, which is an orphanage for about 70 boys, as well as a school for at risk boys and girls. My trip began when one of the friendly staff members (like the Logos Hope, all teachers and staff are volunteers) met me on the quayside in the port area. During our ride up the mountains, I learned that he was from Minnesota and has been serving with Kids Alive for a few years already. He heard about it through his father who actually grew up in one of their locations. He also informed me that the orphanage is for boys from Sri Lanka, Africa, Lebanon and everywhere between, and the school is for the boys as well as local kids whose families own next to nothing.
After arriving, I was impressed with not only the view of the city from being up so high, but also the well-kept grounds of the property. My team and I put on a program and spoke about our lives on the ship, why we joined for such a long time and the purpose of sailing from country to country. One ship person had a clever idea to bring a Logos Hope soccer ball, which when he asked during the end of the program if they wanted to play, caused a mad rush of a stampede out the doors to the adjacent playground where a larger-than-normal game quickly began. Not only did the children behave especially well inside (very quiet and always raising their hands for questions is rare for me to witness), but also interacted surprisingly nice with each other while playing a sport. People can learn a lot from children...learn not to judge others by ethnicity or disability. Learn to coexist peacefully. Which is why I'm thrilled to see organizations like Kids Alive thrive throughout the world.
