Ding, ding, ding.

A loud bell rings across the campus of Bangla Hope. It’s 6:30 a.m. in northern Bangladesh, and the bell signals that it’s time for morning worship.

It’s early March, and the mornings are still wrapped in thick fog. The cool air lingers as the sun slowly pushes through the mist, often not fully appearing until late morning.

Across the courtyard walks a man with a full grizzled beard, wearing a plaid button-up shirt and his favorite footwear—Crocs. His name is Robyn Griffin, and for the past twelve years he has served as the Executive Director of Bangla Hope.

In his own words, “My wife and I act as mommy and daddy to these kids.”

Bangla Hope is a children’s home in northern Bangladesh that was founded in 2004 by Dave and Beverly Waid, a retired couple who saw the need for a home for abandoned children while working in the country. Today, 172 children live here. The campus also operates a K–12 school and supports 11 village schools throughout Bangladesh. As the children grow older, the organization has begun helping many of them attend university as well.

This morning Robyn is carrying a small backpack and wearing a big smile. Today is Dolly’s birthday, and he is on his way to the girls’ dormitory worship to celebrate another year of her life.

For years, Robyn has made it a personal tradition to celebrate every child’s birthday. Each one receives birthday money, a gift, a hug, and a song. Today, Dolly will also receive a balloon animal. Because Robyn and his wife Myrna spend about three months each year in the United States for meetings and family visits, he is also bringing birthday money for the children whose birthdays he missed while he was away.

When Robyn and his wife were first asked to move to Bangladesh twelve years ago, it wasn’t an easy decision. But after much prayer, they felt God was leading them in that direction.

Looking back now, Robyn believes God had been preparing them for this role all along. For 50 years he worked with young people as an educator and mentor, mostly in boarding schools.

When they arrived at Bangla Hope, they wanted the children to know they always had someone they could come to—someone to talk with, laugh with, or cry with.

Outside the door of their home on campus are three lights: green, yellow, and red. A green light means children and staff are welcome to knock. Yellow means only if it’s important. Red means they are unavailable.

But the light is almost always green.

Children come and go throughout the day, sometimes looking for advice, sometimes needing prayer, and sometimes simply needing a shoulder to cry on.

Myrna has used her talents as a seamstress to start a tailoring class for the kids and spends her days sewing dresses and gifting them to the women. When you enter their home, you can often hear her sewing machine going in the back room. She finds great joy in teaching the girls in their dedicated sewing classroom, filled with machines that have been donated for the class.

The Griffin’s love for these kids is easy to see.

A few years ago, one of the younger children lost a baby tooth. As she prepared to throw it away, Robyn stopped her.

“Wait,” he said. “Doesn’t anyone want your tooth?”

Confused, the girl asked why anyone would want it. Robyn explained that in the United States, parents often keep their children’s baby teeth as a small memory.

The girl looked up at him and asked, “Would you want to keep my tooth?”

That moment started a new tradition.

Now when a child loses a tooth, they bring it to Robyn. He carefully places it in a small bag labeled with the child’s name and the date. He also gives them a small amount of pocket money, using the moment to help teach the children how to manage money. They have collected hundreds of teeth since this tradition started.

When Robyn talks about the children at Bangla Hope, he always calls them “our kids.”

He knows each of them by name. He knows their stories—how they came here, their hopes, their dreams, and their struggles. He has laughed with them and cried with many of them. Their door is almost always open for a young person who needs prayer, encouragement, or advice.

As a former music teacher, Robyn has also shared his love of music with the children by teaching them to play handbells.

Spending time with Robyn was a true inspiration to us. With two phones always on him—one for the United States and one for Bangladesh—he is often on the phone encouraging former students who are now attending university or helping arrange travel for them to come home for a visit. No matter where they are, his heart is always with the children of Bangla Hope.

Of course, the Griffins are not alone in this work. Bangla Hope is filled with dedicated staff, many of whom have served the ministry far longer than they have. Their love for the children and deep commitment to the mission have helped shape Bangla Hope into what it is today.

Because Bangla Hope isn’t simply an orphanage.

It’s a home.

A home for a very large family.