Galilean Children's Home in Kentucky

The church we attended, Alpha Chapel, supported the Galilean Children's Home in Kentucky. Randy and I had heard a lot about the place, so one summer when the church was planning a work trip there, we decided to go. 

There was a little prep work to be done, mostly in the matter of dress. The Galilean Home is run by an ex-Mennonite couple who, although they left the Mennonite church in order to run this home (it requires a lot of electrical appliances) still abide by the conservative dress of their faith. For girls, that meant dresses. Which some of us didn't have. But we all got something (I picked mine up at Goodwill) and car-pooled down to Kentucky. 

On arrival, a lady named Rosie (below, in the blue striped dress) ran up and enthusiastically hugged each one of us! She is older than us but mentally quite younger, and she is the unofficial greeter at the home, simply because she loves to hug people. Right behind her was George (in the white striped shirt). He also likes to greet people, although he doesn't run down the road to do it, as Rosie does. Soon they were joined by one of the teenagers at the home (on the right), a sensible young man whose story I never learned, but I believe he was here for just a short time.  Our teenagers weren't quite prepared for this but they quickly learned to fit in.

This home (and that's what it is, not an institution) is the result of Jerry and Sandy Tucker's love of children. It led them to adopt a lot of children, and to help the ones they can't adopt. They travel abroad to bring back children who need surgery they can't get at home, provide the surgery and give them a place to live until they are strong enough to return. They take in severely handicapped people who cannot care for themselves and require 24 hour care. They take in abandoned and abused children, and mentally challenged people. They do everything without accepting any government grants, which could require them to make compromises that their faith will not allow. They make things work on gifts from churches (including their Mennonite associates, who understand exactly why a family with 50 or more children need washers and dryers) and fund-raisers, such as an annual quilt auction. They are careful stewards of every gift and don't seem to spend anything on themselves. Jerry and Sandy still dress in simple Mennonite clothes, drive a very old car that holds lots of children, and live in a simple room that is part of the general dormitories. This is their family, not a business. 

I spent my time, with several of our young ladies, doing laundry. They have a row of donated machines that are always busy, and they appreciated us taking over for the day. They also have several babies here now, so we took turns cuddling a few of them in the laundry room. 

One of the teenagers there, Abdul, lost both of his hands to a land mine in his native country. We found him to be polite and hard-working, and to our surprise, fully able to whup our guys in basketball!

This is an amazing place. These people live their lives in service to the needs of others.

Our teenagers had never imagined what some of these people went through, and I think it made a bigger impact to meet teenagers here. I hope it makes a lasting impression on them, to understand how much they have, and how they can make a difference.