Enthusiastically greeted by young orphans proudly waving the Greek flag, King Constantine followed by his wife and daughter walked through the doors of the Pattaya Orphanage. Joined by Mr. Shannon and other delegates, the six of us entered the orphanage excited to begin a day of service alongside the King. We were split into different groups to work with assigned age groups. The groups consisted of babies, toddlers and pre-school children. We were blessed to have the opportunity to interact with them through a series of different games and activities.

Greg, Hutch and Elle began the day with the pre-school children and had an amazing experience playing with them. Elsa, Caroline and Mr. Shannon started off with the babies. They helped the caregivers of the orphanage prepare the babies for bed and comfort them. Sasha had the chance to be placed with a room of toddlers who were all ecstatic because they had a new playmate.

We were extremely moved by the children’s warmth and affected by the lack of attention they receive. We could feel the impact we had on their day—not to mention their futures—and how much they appreciated our company.

In keeping with the conference theme “We Walk Together,” this day could be subtitled “We Smile Together.” The laughter and joy throughout the orphanage was infectious and we made them feel like they too were a part of the conference. We hope to have many more experience like this to follow.

Keep smiling LCC, and spread laughter! —Sasha Cukier ’11 and Caroline Maughan ’11