A Visit to Door of Hope, Esther's "place of safety"

Approaching Door of Hope

Getting ready to go in


Esther got really subdued as we entered the shelter...For a little while she seemed to just shut down, and didn't smile or show any signs of recognition when people said hello to her again. She acted very down and out of it for about the first 20 minutes. There is no way of knowing what was going through her head, so Niklas just held her tight.



The backyard, where baby clothes are constantly being put up to dry!


The room and bed where Esther slept when she first arrived at Door of Hope as a preemie.
All of the babies here were very young...One was the tiniest little human I have ever seen in my life. I didn't even know a human could be so little! She was the size of Esther when Esther first arrived.


When she got older and bigger, Esther was moved to the room for older babies. Here is her bed, with her name tag still on it! (Please note that we also have a hot pink onesie with a zebra on it, that is Esther's passport photo!)


This is the church next door that helps to run Door of Hope.


I love this picture, taken in front of the sign for the orphanage. Esther has now found hope in the arms of her Pappa!


There were about 10 babies there at the time, and 6 caregivers who were holding the babies or "playing" with them. Everyone was very happy to see Esther, even though it took a little while for her to put on her charm again....



...but after awhile our little charmer was back in style!


But Esther REALLY lit up when her main caregiver, the "Aunty" who gave her the name Esther came into the room (it had been her day off but she came in when she found out we were visiting). It was so precious for us to see their interaction and to see how much this lovely lady loved little Esther.



Finally, it was time for some goodbyes.



Family picture, after an emotional but wonderful visit to Esther's first home.