This spring Hope of the Nations Children’s Home expanded from 35 children to 50! We opened our home first to those children who had lost one or both parents and then from those with no access to education, desperately poor living conditions and last of all those who come from non-Christian villages. We now have children from age 5 to 16 and they are doing incredibly well. They came to us in various stages of malnourishment and poverty and now they are thriving. Here are a few of their stories.
This is Paul. He comes from a very, very poor family in a village where the people the people worship both Budda and give sacrifices to trees and pigs (animists). When he came to us he was dressed in rags and I promptly took him to buy some new clothes which he’s wearing in this picture. This little boy is a treasure. He is very shy and has only a few friends which is why I have been so shocked by his boldness. His village is staunchly anti-Christian. If you choose to be Christian you are ostracized—literally they force you to move to another village. I knew that our Paul had become Christian in our home but now he has asked to be baptized. Doing this will make him an outcast from his village and cause problems with his family but he says he doesn’t care. He wants Jesus. He wants to be a Christian and is willing to undergo persecution if necessary. He is eleven years old. I only hope that if I were in his situation I would be as brave. He is a very loving little boy and shyly submits to my kisses and hugs. His real name is not Paul—I named him this when he cam. The other day I asked him his real name and he said my name is Paul. Paul the messenger send by God, fearless and willing to stand up for his faith in the face of persecution. When I named this little boy I had no idea that this name would fit him so well.
This little five year old is my baby. Don’t let his innocent face fool you. He is as mischievous as they come and carries my heart around in his pocket. His name is KoonLek which means little man. I asked how on earth could a father send his son away at such a young age and the father said “I’ve worked hard in the sun all day long all my life just for a little food because I don’t have education. I want better for my son.” When he came to us his belly was swollen from malnutrition and now he eats the most incredible amount of food—I joke that he eats his body weight in rice everyday! But he is transformed. He picks flowers for me and gave me his precious necklace he made from a bead craft we did with the children. I wear it always around my wrist. He laughs and plays and throws me kisses with his little hand. True to little boy form, during worship, he sings especially loud the words he knows and unfortunately he doesn’t know many, He closes his eyes and raises his hands like the others and then squints to look at everyone to make sure he is doing it right. We can’t watch him during worship or we will be laughing and not worshipping. He is pure entertainment and I thank God for him.
Meet my Sara, she is 9 years old. She is has become my daughter. Her mother died when she was a baby and her father didn’t want her. She was living with an aunt who had to send her away when her husband went to prison. This little girl had never had enough to eat until she came to us. She has been passed around and unwanted all her life. But no more. Her smile is the joy of my life. She calls me mother and we play a game endlessly. I say “You’re beautiful” and she says “Mom you’re beautiful” and I say “You are more beautiful” and she says “No you’re more beautiful!” And it goes on as you can see endlessly. She also eats a tremendous amount as a result of the starvation she suffered before and I pat her stomach and say “Big!!” and she giggles because she is very ticklish on her stomach and agrees with me. Often after she has eaten she comes to me and sticks out her stomach and says “Big!” and laughs. We bought her new clothes when she came and she cried because she had never had anything new before. The few little things she had were practically rags. She cries a lot even still, the trauma of all that happened to her is still in her mind. Often when I am in my room or office praying and listening to worship music she sits with me and lays her head in my lap and the music makes her cry especially this song she understands in English, all it says is “Jesus You’re beautiful”. It touches her tender heart because now she knows He is indeed beautiful and has given her more than she could have ever dreamed of.
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