I observed a day of rest yesterday, so neglected to bring the latest on the story of the Momma and baby who were begging. It is a good thing, as I have more to share now.
In the days since we saw them on the pedestrian overpass I've had a few local friends try to counsel me that what we did was unrealistic. In their care for us, they have warned us that the situation was very possibly a scam. One dear friend said that he was aware of stories of people who took children, perhaps those whose parents could not care for them and who would have potentially ended up in an orphanage, to use the visible need of the child as an appeal to beg. He said, "I give it a 50/50 chance that you'll ever hear from her again."
I was really saddened by this thought, but I knew, it is a very real possibility. When one is desperately poor and is in need of money...what would we not do to feed ourselves? And, while I knew there was a chance that it was not as it should be, I felt so strongly that this mother and baby were what they appeared. The way she sobbed...it makes a pit in my stomach as I think of it. What an actress she would have had to have been! Even more, the experience was so powerful, so deeply spiritual while being so grounded in the natural, I knew I could trust the HS's leading...that He was calling on us to be present and do whatever needed to be done for the good of that baby.
Thanks be to Him who does amazing things...we are in contact with the Momma and baby!
In the past twenty-four hours, contact was made, through a few intermediaries...but it was achieved! I consider this nothing short of a miracle!
The little boy, his name, Qian Qian (pronounced chen-chen), was seen today by a doctor! The first visit of his life to a hospital!
We determined from our exchange that night on the overpass that the woman was staying with a "mei-mei" (little sister) here in our city. Apparently it was mei-mei's boyfriend who contacted our dear local friend (who is assisting on our behalf.) The first phone call exchanged some basic information and our friend asked mei-mei's boyfriend to accompany the Momma to the hospital so that the baby could be seen and an estimate given regarding the cost to repair the cleft lip. (I am unsure at this point if the cleft also includes the palate.)
The second phone call came a few hours later (apparently they went immediately to the hospital) with the details from the Doctor. A treatment plan, with various steps for the Qian Qian's lip repair was briefly covered with our friend and arrangements were made for both men (the boyfriend and our friend) to meet and speak further. An estimate was given by the hospital as well...10,000 RMB or approximately $1,505 USD...the cost given to change Qian Qian (and his mother's) life by giving him surgery.
When I heard the estimate, though I do not yet know where the money will come from, I asked our friend to immediately tell Qian Qian's mother that we will pledge to provide the surgery her son needs. I know the He is in this, that it was his prompting that caused us to go back and to sit down instead of giving money and passing on by...and I know that He will provide what Qian Qian needs financially! How exciting this will be to see Him moving powerfully in the life of this courageous mother...who suffered reproach and ultimately her husband's abandoning...because she wanted to keep her child. How can we not do everything possible for her?
I hope to soon have a picture of Qian Qian to post here so that you can see the precious child I've been writing about!
If your heart is touched by this story or you feel the HS's prompting and want to be a part of this miracle for Qian Qian, please email me! We hope to have the funds together very soon as everything must be paid to the hospital in advance for the surgery to take place.
One final thought on this post...
I contributed to a book recently published about living and teaching Here. In one of the chapters I wrote, I discussed the effect of a picture of a mother and child that my husband had brought back from a short term trip to India....here are excerpts from that writing :
A few years ago my husband traveled to India with a Christian, humanitarian organization. Among the more than one thousand pictures he brought back was one that proved to be a seminal moment for me.
This excerpt is from my journal in January 2007:
“There’s just one picture that I cannot get out of my mind; the lady in the street. She’s sitting in the street, begging, her son curled up and sleeping with his head on her lap.
Of course, I don't know if he was sleeping, I assumed so, because I'm an American who thinks that living in suburbia without a husband who was traveling for 12 days was a real hardship. Maybe the boy wasn't sleeping at all? Perhaps he was just too weak or too hungry to sit up next to her and beg? It’s hard for my mind to conceive of anything like that. My healthy, well-fed children are so loud playing in the next room I am unable to construct such a reality even in my imagination.
My husband apologized for the resolution of the photograph. He said it didn't fully tell the story. He was riding in a bus and shot the picture through the glass.
You see, the picture didn't capture the tears that he saw streaming down her cheeks while she was sitting in the middle of the busy, over-crowded road, her son's head in her lap.
Should I be angry at myself for not understanding her reality? Should I chastise myself for not being able to relate to what that life would be like sitting IN THE STREET...weeping...begging...with a child huddled next to me?...
...How could I relate? The abundance in which I live is like the novocaine my dentist uses before he drills on my teeth. The greater the abundance, the less I feel anything, especially compassion and connection with an unfortunate woman weeping in the street on the other side of the world.
If I had been there, If I had seen her, maybe I would have gotten down in the dirt with her and told her about how difficult my life has been lately…
Would I ever have anything to say to her? Could I even open my mouth in her presence?
Maybe I'll just delete the picture...and go back to worrying about that car repair that needs to be done...now that's a real pain...
How foolish I’ve been…”
Now it is nearly 4 years later.
Just three nights ago, I sat down on the pavement with a mother, so desperate for help for her special needs son that she endured the shame of begging to get him help.
It is true that I really didn't have much to say to her, as I'd imagined would be the case when I'd looked at the picture of the woman and child in India. But I saw the reality of the seed that photo planted...a chance to reach out...to put my faith in action to meet the need of the one right in front of me.
She is not a stranger to me. She is my sister in this common experience of humanity.
While I do not know the pain and shame of what she's endured to provide for her special needs son...I have the ability and responsibility to bridge that gap to meet her in her point of need.
I know that there are many more who need help. But for now, the opportunity to minister to Him exists in little Qian Qian's need...to be His hands and feet...and for His glory alone.
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