The donations of clothing and toys were only the beginning. In the next three months the Americans rebuilt the orphanage kitchen, replaced the missing windows, provided funds for food, and purchased new kitchen utensils, cookware. and a one-month supply of firewood.
Not only was the staff thrilled, but the interpreter was so impressed at the support given to the children of his country that he purchased a one hundred-pound bag of rice for the orphanage.
Gessner turned over some of the cash he had received to a non-governmental organization (NGO) called the Knights of Malta, who developed a menu and purchased food for the orphanage on a weekly basis. “Rather than buying in bulk, this reduced the possibility of loss, waste or diversion of the food intended for the orphanage,” said Gessner. “The Knights of Malta also outfitted three school rooms with desks, chalkboards and other supplies once we had repaired them.”
With no water in the orphanage, the kids and staff walked to a nearby irrigation ditch and brought the water in by buckets. One day, while standing in the orphanage, Gessner noticed water running in through the back gate. The owner of the next property had already drilled through the dike and water was running freely on to his property.
“I asked the owner if we could put a spigot on the end of his pipe and let us run a water line into the orphanage,” Gessner said. “He agreed and with a few hours work by the plumbers, the orphanage had running water for cooking and personal hygiene.”
Several of the rooms in the orphanage had collapsed roofs and the windows and doors were knocked out. A local Afghan contractor initially asked for $4,000 to do the job but when Gessner told him he only had $1,000 to spend, he agreed to rebuild the rooms at that price for the kids. “It was one of the easiest contract negotiations I’d ever done,” said Gessner. A few weeks later, the rooms were ready.
“You Americans are nothing like they [Taliban and Al Qaeda] said you were,” the staff told Gessner. Then they placed their hands over their hearts and nodded in a gesture of respect.
“When we saw this,” said Gessner, “we knew we had made an impression.”
Lord, help me find joy in meeting the needs of others in your name.
“Whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40)