American children might be disappointed to receive clothing as Christmas gifts, but not orphans in Myanmar—who often only have one set of clothes. Every year around this time we ask all of our child sponsors to consider sending an extra $5 for each child they sponsor so that their sponsored children can receive new clothes for Christmas. Our goal this year is to provide "Christmas clothes" for 1,500 orphans and unwanted children on Christmas morning, which they will all excitedly wear to church that day—and most every other day for the next year.

I thought we would melt as we climbed out of our air-conditioned van. The heat and humidity were oppressive. Little did we know that the worst was yet to come as we made our way towards a little bamboo shack. Barely bigger than a one-car garage, that shack was home to twenty orphans plus Tha Cung Bik and his wife, Sui Tha, the directors of Zion Children's Home. The year was 2008, and Cyclone Nargis had devastated this part of Myanmar a few months earlier. Zion's tiny shack had been completely flattened by the storm's fury, and though Tha Cung Bik had propped it back up, it leaned noticeably.