Many of you may recall me writing about a 4 day old baby called Bayana that we first met when we were ministering at Daughters (see posting on July 21, 2009). She was diagnosed with spina bifida and had club feet and was brought to Daughters by one of the staff who knew her mother. Bayana's mother a sex worker herself did not want her child. It's one thing to have a healthy baby but to have one that is physically disabled is not an easy task for anyone, muchless someone who lives in a poor country and who has no financial means of supporting her child. It would be so easy to judge her parents but one could only wonder if we were in a similar situation as them, what would we do. How would we respond? Bayana's parents agreed to give her up and so we arranged for Bayana to go to Place of Rescue, an AIDS orphanage funded by our dear friend Marie Ens.
This morning I got a wonderful update about Bayana from Marie. This little one is now called Neang Rua, which means Ruth but "rua" also means 'live", is holding her own. According to Marie, she is at the National Pediatrics hospital and they are giving her good care. The doctors have indicated that they will take care of her problems one at a time. First they need to put a shunt in her head but they want to wait if they can until she is 8 kilos. However they are monitoring her situation and if she needs it done sooner they will do it. Please have everyone keep on praying. She is in the Lord's hands and He has a plan. After the shunt they will do something with her back and finally with her legs.
I feel that we have been privileged to be part of a miracle that is in process as I think of little baby Neang Rua. How her new name is so fitting for this little one who has been given a new life in Christ. Only God could have orchestrated for her to come first to Daughters Cambodia by one of his servants, a young staff member who He has blessed with a heart of compassion for kids. Only God could have made a way when there seemed to be no way and no hope for this baby. After all, Neang Rua was taken initially to this very same hospital by her mother but because her mother was a sex worker the hospital advised her to take Neang Rua back home and just let her die. But God had other plans for Neang Rua. His plans will not be thwarted. He can call forth life where there was none and as I think of Neang Rua, I believe this is what He is doing.
The Lord has not only given her a new name but HE has given to her a new life by virtue of her guardianship with Place of Rescue. In many ways, Neang Rua's life is a reflection of what happens to us when we cross the line of faith and become followers of Jesus. Like her, we have new status, new citizenship in a kingdom that shall not end. Neang Rua has been granted new rights and privileges as a child of God for she bears the mark of the most High and so enters into a whole new world, a world that offers her opportunities that she previously had no access to.
Neang Rua's story reminds me that Jesus does not overlook those who society looks down upon. He indeed is a friend of the sinner, the outcast, the disable, the prostitute, the broken, the persecuted, the rejected, the abandoned, the leper, the unwanted, the marginalized....The world made forget them but He does not. The world may ignore them, but He does not. He welcomes them all and invites them to come as they are so that He can bestow beauty for ashes, joy for mourning in order that they will become a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor. Why God has chosen to rescue Neang Rua over others is a mystery perhaps we will not know for years or maybe until we get to heaven. But I do believe, that He indeed has a special purpose for her life. He has gone to great lengths to preserve her life --- a life I can't help but imagine that will one day testify of His love, His grace, His goodness, His faithfulness and His power.
Dear little Neang Rua, what God has started in you, He will complete. When I first laid eyes on you, you were lying on the floor on a stained pillow covered in a little blanket. But how I praise the Lord that He would grant us the privilege of meeting you. You are His precious bundle of joy that one day will reflect His beauty as you blossom into a beautiful flower in His garden. For just like Jesus was born in a barn, in the most simplest and basic surroundings so were you. I can only dream of what your future will be like as we pray that His kingdom will come into your very little heart.
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