Holidays with Eleven Kids - An Orphan's First Christmas Wish

Holidays with Eleven Kids - An Orphan’s First Christmas Wish

A new computer, clothing, a PlayStation, an iPhone 8, or better yet, an iPhone X. Kids come up with Christmas wish lists every year, and they may seem outlandish at times, but finally, we give in. We are so caught up in consumerism – myself included.

In my family with eleven kids, the gifts were not that outlandish, but we still ran around asking for things and making lists. One of my sisters lived in an orphanage until she was fourteen. She had arrived from Korea that year and was in a new country with a new language and traditions. This was her first Christmas as part of our family, but she was fourteen, not a newborn or a small child. Kids pick up quickly, and so did she. As she heard us, her new siblings, talking about what we wanted, she voiced her opinion, "I would like a church hymn book in Korean."

We, the other children, made faces and looked at her as if she was crazy: "You know you can ask for more; why would you want that?"

We had never lived in an orphanage, had to learn another language, and we did not have the traumas of her past. We didn't get it and didn't think another thing about it until Christmas morning. My mother did, however, and contacted Mormon Missionaries in Korea. Everything had been organized.

Christmas morning arrived, and the hymn book was beautifully wrapped and tucked under the tree unbeknownst to us.

My sister was wearing a pink bathrobe that Christmas morning. She sat kneeling in front of the bookcase next to the tree. She was in shock at the magnitude of packages nestled under our beautiful tree. When it was her turn, she was handed a small wrapped gift. She opened it. The moment she saw the Korean letters on the Hymn book's cover, she quietly started rocking back and forth, holding the book to her chest as tears flowed down her cheeks. We sat and stared in amazement, and then we too were crying. My Mom had to run to get tissues for all of us.

As the years have passed, I have forgotten many of these stories.  Now with teens of my own, I am remembering. Read your teens a Christmas story this year. Remind them how lucky they are. My sister gave me gifts beyond anything you can imagine. It was an honor to be part of this as a child, to watch her and grow with her.

–Allison Ochs, Social Pedagogue/Worker, Author, Expert in Digital Citizenship, Mother of three, Wife

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash