The needs are so great and diverse here. One child may be just need to grow following cleft lip repair, while the next is struggling for each breath striving to gain enough strength to have a major heart repair. Bowel issues, urinary tract defects, cleft lips, cleft palates, extreme failure to thrive, complex heart defects. These are "normal" here, and some of the kids have more than one of these problems. By all accounts these kids shouldn't be alive, but they are and many are thriving because of the care they have been provided. Some will live to be adopted, some will stay in the orphan system until they are too old, and some will not make it. These are the harsh realities of orphan life in China.
After making every reader sufficiently depressed now what is my point to sharing all of this. Jesus says in Matthew 9:37, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” (still depressing but I'm getting to the point.) Everyone reading this can be a worker. Not everyone can come to China, but anyone can pray, and that is what these babies need more than anything.
Early Saturday morning I was called to the room of one of the smaller heart babies. The baby was blue, and was struggling for every breath. Going to the Emergency Room is not really an option so we did everything within our means to make her better. We gave her oxygen, nebulizer treatments, and a fluid medicine but she was still struggling. I had nothing else medical that I could do. However, I could pray. I put my hand on her precious head and started praying that God would relieve her distress. I knew that He might relieve her by comforting her here on earth, or He might choose to comfort her in His arms in Heaven. Not long after her breathing slowed, her color improved, and she was slowly getting better. The doctor in me struggles not to say that it just took time for the medicine to take effect, but I know that it was certainly God's hand that was at work that day. The next day when I went to check on her she smiled the biggest smile, and I knew that for now she was going to be okay.
I'm thankful that the Lord has led Lauren, the kids, and me here to spend time with these precious children, and I pray that one day we will get to return. After we return home, and are not able to see them everyday, we will pray. We will pray for the 33 month old baby who weighs 11 pounds and can't have heart surgery until she gains enough weight. We will pray for the child who gets closer to complete renal failure everyday and has no surgical option for treating his problem. We will pray for the baby with a cleft palate that has been repaired who just needs a family to see his precious face and choose to bring him into their home.
We ask that you do the same. It would be great if you would give, and sponsor a child, and adopt, and travel here to love on these babies, but that isn't a reality for many. Prayer is a reality, and these babies need to be lifted up to our Heavenly Father more than anything.
Below are pictures so you can see who we have been able to spend our time with. I have to show a few of our kids having fun too!!!
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