Look at this picture. Isn't he the most handsome little boy? He has amazingly bright eyes and a beautiful smile. I can tell you from experience that underneath that smile is a boy who loves to build and create things. He loves to sing. He loves to do the same mischievous things that most little boys his age like to do. What would you say if I told you that he almost didn't get the chance? Would you be shocked? Let me tell you a little bit more of his story.

First of all his name is Delmas. My friends Mick and Tammy are his sponsors and since I consider Tammy to be like one of my sisters, I consider him to be my nephew. I love him like he is family. He is quiet and shy when you first meet him. He would duck his head and run away when I would try to talk to him. That has most certainly all changed. He comes running to find me at the school or the orphanage. He is the first to tell me about his grades or anything else going on. He comes running when he feels there is some great injustice that he needs help fixing. Just a normal little boy.... Now.

What would you say if I told you that Delmas had been taken to the woods in the mountains and left there? He had basically been hidden there and left to die. I am sure that stories like his are abundant at Seeds. I am sure there are so many more that don't have the same happy ending that is there for Delmas. The thing that just unsettles me is that children are disposable. If there is something wrong with them, get rid of them. That just breaks my heart. If you don't want them abandon them somewhere and hope for the best.

I know that the societal standards aren't the same here. Things are wildly different, but that doesn't change the fact that I just don't understand how you could do something like that to a child. The thought that kept coming back to me was that if I had been born here, would I have been cast aside? Would I have been called cursed? More than that I know that my dad would have been cast aside because of his heart problems. Which if that had happened there wouldn't have been him and there wouldn't have been me. It was too much to process. It still is too much to process.

In light of all of this, my thoughts then turned to God. What if He cast us aside or left us to die because there was something wrong with us? We would be in a whole lot of trouble. Praise God He saw us in our time of need and met us there with a free gift of salvation that frees us from being cast aside. I encourage you today to extend love to someone who can do nothing for you in return. Simple acts make the world much better. I plan to love on as many kids as I can today while I am at the school. I am truly learning what it means to be the church to everyone, everywhere, and I am thankful for the people that have chosen to love me when I needed it the most.

Brokenhearted but full of love,
Melody