My Friend Gino

I fell in love with Gino.

We went to an orphanage in the outskirts of Beijing yesterday. I can’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday than singing for, listening to, playing with, and befriending these little ones. They each had a smile tinged with hurt, each was so in love with Jesus, each had their own story, each was so strong.

But Gino was my favorite.

The orphanage is run by an American and Christian couple with hearts bigger than I can fathom. What selfless love! They run a bakery called, “Bread of Life” which is a way for the kids to do real work, take ownership, and see the rolls of their labor. I can’t wait to go back.

We sang some songs for them and they sang for us. How refreshing to see God’s people praising Him without bashfulness, no strings attached, not trying to hit every note – just the flock giving their all to Him. It’s a beautiful reminder of a few things:

1. God isn’t Anglo-German and He doesn’t only speak English.

2. The faith of a child is truly awesome.

3. Don’t ever complain.

I moseyed on up to Gino and showed him how to say his name with an Italian / Godfather-esc voice and an arched right hand. To say the least, that broke the ice. He plopped by me on the couch and while we were discussing our mutual loathing of Lady Gaga (in Mandarin of course) when he noticed my camera and off he went. Gino started snapping pictures like it was his job – the kid has got the eye. The best part was that I forgot to change the timer setting (you can set the camera, click then 10 seconds later it will snap the photo), and Gino loved the beeping as it got quicker and quicker. He would point it at one person for a few seconds, then at the last instant shoot some unsuspecting bystander. And when I switched it back to regular mode, he made it clear that we was shooting in timer mode or not at all.

No beeps, no Gino. This was his unflinchingly rigid philosophy.

I can’t wait to go back and see Gino’s face light up when I whip out the camera and away he’ll beep in pure bliss.

- m -

P.S. - If you want to see some more pictures of Gino and our orphanage , click on the orange link on the right that says, Micah's Online Albums.