We arrived in Belize in 2008, and officially opened our doors at Laugh Out Loud in 2013. Today, we enter a new chapter of growth and development, building on top of the foundation that God has helped to establish over the last decade.
With our new day comes a new logo and revised slogan, both of which reflect and represent the work that we do at Laugh Out Loud.
As an orphanage, one might assume that we work to keep abandoned children alive. While that endeavor in and of itself is noble, it is incomplete in our view. We believe that Father God’s heart longs to see His children walk through restoration so that they might know that in His Kingdom and in His family, each of them has a place to belong. From the moment they arrive at LOL, we fight for them. We want to see them discover who they are, develop their character, launch into their dreams, and create a legacy of love and revival.
The first phase is discover. Seen here by the markings of three rounded diagonal lines, this symbol represents seeds being sown and action or movement. Discovery represents the earliest days of a child arriving at Laugh Out Loud. It’s in these early stages where the overgrown weeds of doubt and unbelief begin their uprooting, and healing gets the opportunity to work into their past, planting new seeds of identity and life.
This is the first piece of movement we get to witness. Our children are confronted with many points of struggle and the need for deep healing. Night terrors, behavioral issues, undernourishment, the fight for attention, wounds from physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, abandonment, despair, infections, hopelessness; these are just a few of the battles they encounter. While the work to wholeness is ongoing, seeing these kids begin to discover and accept that they are not their past is both breathtaking and humbling. With it comes the ability to discover passions and giftings, ones which are uniquely theirs, from God Himself.
The second phase is develop. Represented by the emblem of a leaf, this symbol stands for the establishment of their new life here in the jungle at Laugh Out Loud. It’s in these intermediate stages where they begin to develop their gifts and character. This season is where we witness a crossing over with the acceptance of their identity, purpose, and destiny.
Watching them discover new things and seeing them realize they can achieve something far beyond what their past might have limited them to, is such a joy. Providing quality education for our children, specific to their needs, is critical at this stage. We utilize both private and local schools as well as on-campus homeschooling options for all of our kids. Additionally, we are helping to fund skills training and college tuition assistance for our young adults. We are fighting daily to hold a door of opportunity open, just as the Father does for us.
The third phase is launch. Represented by the emblem of a rocket or arrowhead, this phase symbolizes the power and excitement of seeing our young adults being released into their destiny. When we first started, we had no idea what this piece would look like. However, after 12 years of development, the big picture becomes more than seeing five and six-year-olds having a good home.
Watching these children grow up and transform into young adults changed things for us. We soon realized that doing as most orphanages do by merely letting them “age out,” wasn’t an option for us. God purposed for these lives to be grafted into ours for the long haul, which includes the critical transition from adolescence to adulthood.
This is the third piece of destiny that we get to witness. Watching them take everything they’ve learned and then head off to college, develop their own business, or walk straight into the job they’ve always wanted; nothing fills your heart more. Our partners help to provide tuition assistance, job training, and transitional housing. They share the same desire we have, to see these kids that were once labeled as "forgotten," transform into the very people who can shake cultures and shift nations.
The final phase is legacy. Represented by our complete logo, a hybrid of the first three phases, this logo embodies the compassion, transformation, and confidence we work so hard to instill into our kids. This phase represents the story unfolding, not only ours as an organization, but individually the story that each of our children will write. The legacy looks like the families, neighborhoods, cities, and nations that will be forever impacted by these children coming into their destiny and having the courage to embrace it and run with it.
We may never get to see the full scope of the work that we are doing, but the story is being written. Each day the legacy is unfolding. Just as a single stone into the still waters of a lake causes a ripple effect, so will generation after generation reap the fruit of what we have sown. Along with our partners, we believe that a legacy of love, forgiveness, healing, and compassion is growing and expanding far beyond what we could dream, ask for, or imagine.