The kids looked up at the volunteers with confused expressions. Why were they crying? Why did they seem so upset? The kids were only going to school, after all. As the small children waved goodbye to the 20 or so volunteers they had spent the past five days getting to know, they didn’t know they were saying goodbye for good.

Senior Taillon Miller made her way to the bus with tears running down her face and leaving splotches on her shirt. She had known she would have to say goodbye to these kids and yet it was the hardest thing she ever had to do. She was going back to a privileged life with two parents that loved her, things she knew this kids did not have.

“We went on a walk with two of pod moms; they call them the pod moms because all these kids are orphans, but they still want the kids to have a connection to a mother or father figure,” Miller said.

Changing lives

The directors who oversee Robin’s Nest Children’s Home in Montego Bay, Jamaica make it their mission to ensure that the children are able to form lasting connections with people who will be around to stay. During the mission trip, Miller and the other volunteers had time when they were not with the children to make it easier on the kids. Miller knew this would be the hardest part of her trip as she had come to have a strong connection with the kind, and welcoming kids.

“They were really happy to see us,” Miller said. “They were so happy and willing to share everything they did have.”

Miller’s life has been forever impacted by the experience of working with these children. They gave big smiles as they jumped around with the pod moms and the volunteers as they played soccer. The kids put their joy forward and captured the hearts of the volunteers just like they had the creator of the orphanage.

Orphanage founder Michelle Robinette created the orphanage “To care for the orphans, the hurting, the helpless. Give them hope and show them an unconditional love.”

Overcoming health setbacks

Miller and the other volunteers worked with the kids for five days, and even though it was a blast, the days seemed to stretch endlessly on for Miller who was suffering through bronchitis and pneumonia.

“On the last two days we were at the orphanage, I was wheezing every time we had to walk somewhere and I just kept passing out,” Miller said.

Being sick and away from home is tough enough on a person, but add volunteering with a group of energetic kids whose ages ranged from eight months to 13 years old and it can be a damper on any trip. However, Miller was determined to keep on the positive side and make her trip the best she could for herself and for the kids.

“It was super hard, but I had to keep telling myself, ‘Look Tai, you’re in Jamaica you have to make the best of it,’” Miller said.

Even through the tough times of being sick in a foreign country Miller knew this was an experience she would never forget. Playing soccer with the kids, laughing and doing crafts, and bonding with her fellow volunteers are some of the memories that Miller will remember for the rest of her life.

“They were really just in a bad situation and didn’t have all the stuff kids do here, and we’re fortunate enough to have in Stillwater, but they were still so happy,” Miller said.