David McCormick

The other day I pulled into the orphanage with my little twin babies, Hanna and Sophia. I was promptly greeted by a few of the boys who were playing basketball in the court. They helped me get the girls out of their car seats and politely escorted them to the basketball court while strategically defending them from the incoming soccer balls.  I sat and observed as one of the older boys held Hanna close to him, gave her a big kiss on the cheek and just stared into her eyes with a goofy smile on his face. Although they are not the majority, this boy in particular is a double orphan who has no ties to his biological family. But that afternoon, I saw tenderness and selflessness from a boy who was once horribly abused when he was Hanna's age. And it dawned on me right then and there. Taking care of orphans shouldn't exclusively be about detecting hurts, assessing pain and elaborating recovery plans. Taking care of orphans shouldn't look like boot camp where adults are large and ...

Days such as these mean a lot of different things to different people. I am sure that for some, this is one of those days that only serves to bring back hard or painful memories of a dad who has passed away or maybe a dad who was never there to begin with. The "dad" relationship is a tricky one for a lot of people, especially with the kids I interact with day in a day out at the orphanage. It makes sense. Statistically the dad is the one who most of these kids don't even know or remember. Many of their hearts have become so hard to the concept of a dad that the thought of a "heavenly"dad is just plain confusing. Compounded with abusive figures that are all too common, I feel like sometimes the hope I have slowly dims and fades. But I believe in fathers. I believe that from the get-go, God's design of a father of which he would be the ultimate model, is such a part of our DNA that every human being LONGS for that paternal relationship in spite of all the abus...

I just arrived in Canada after an amazing time in Nashville at the Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) Summit. The four day conference was focused on the different aspects of orphan care: adoption, foster care and residential care. It was interesting to find out that CAFO has now included a fourth pillar in the spectrum of orphan care which is family reunification; exactly what we began doing at Casa Bernabe in January of this year. I am heading up the newly founded department of family reunification and my psychologist and administrative assistant/nutritionist were also able to attend the conference.  Aside from all we received from the speakers and panels, the most incredible part of the conference was to be surrounded by thousands of people that have passionately dedicated their lives to taking care of orphans all over the world. Before leaving Guatemala, I was able to visit one of the mothers that we are working with to see if she can possibly be reunited with ...