Children of God

IF YOU ONLY EVER READ ONE STORY THAT I POST THEN PLEASE READ THIS ONE. 

 It's been another eventful week here in Romania!.

I could tell you a thousand stories but for today I will tell ONE hospital story

that will hopefully get you thinking a bit more seriously about who you are and why that's important.

The Child That Changed My Life:

I had one hour left to volunteer in the hospital and I asked the nurse on a

new floor if there were any orphan children.

She pointed to a room.

I entered and what I saw was shocking, heart-wrenching,and life-changing.

There, completely naked, was a little girl about 6 years old

tied to one of the bars of a small metal crib.

No sheets were on her bed, no underwear, no diaper.

No one else in the room.

Just this small, malnourished child with layers of tape around her wrist to keep her in place.

I gasped at the horrifying sight.

I have been very reasonable to this point with my posts and my feelings about Romania.

I have tried to be as open-minded and as non-judgmental as possible in these posts

but THIS little girl's living conditions are UNACCEPTABLE.

(The people in Romania, the orphanage, and the hospital are kind, wonderful people and yet, it was appalling to see a little girl like this. I must acknowledge that these wonderful hospital workers are doing the best they can with the knowledge and resources that they have available. I'm not angry with anyone...just deeply saddened by the state of things...)

I ran to the nurse to get an explanation.

She was from the country.

2 days ago her parents dropped her off at the ER and left her.

She can't speak--remember she's 6 or 7.

She uses her feet and legs as much as her hands.

She is very DIRTY.

She would rip her IV out of her arm so they had to tape her arm to her bed.

(I was told that I was not allowed to hold her or undo her restraints.)

I found her gnawing at her arm and she will probably have permanent scars now.

The nurses didn't even know what to do with her so they left her like that until they could figure something out.

I tried  to be okay with their logic in taping up this little girl.
At first I felt angry. 
My heart has begun to soften towards this situation as I realized that anger won't help 
this girl in any way. All I can do is offer any help that I can.

But I had no idea what to do to help her...

I did the only things that I could.

I cleaned her up the best I could, put a diaper on her--anything is better than naked--

brushed her hair, blew bubbles and balloons, smiled, and sang.

What did she do?

SPIT. 

HISSED.

BIT.

This child is wild. 

I truly wonder where in the world this girl came from and what her life 

was like that led to her to be like this.

It literally breaks my heart. 

I still can't wrap my head around it.

It was like I was in a movie.

 A horror movie.

For moments all I could do was stand there and stare at this little girl writhing, biting, and spitting at me and just wanting to cry.

No child EVER deserves to be brought to this.

I wanted to rip those restraints off, pick her up and just hold her and tell her that 

I wouldn't leave her and that I would take her home and she wouldn't have to be

scared or alone anymore. I wanted to say that she was safe and everything would be okay.

But I didn't.

I couldn't promise that.

I was helpless...I felt completely useless.

All I could do was try to hold her hand and calm her down while trying to be as happy and sweet as I possibly could without screaming that this wasn't right!
I did everything I could think of to comfort her...
Looking back I can think of this scripture in Matthew 25:

Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom 
prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: 
I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: 
I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Naked, and ye clothed me: 
I was sick, and ye visited me: 
I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, 
when saw we thee and hungered, and fed thee? 
or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
When saw we thee a stranger and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

And the Kind shall answer and say unto them, 
Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one 
of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

This scripture brings such peace to me as I realize that as I reach out as much as
I can to her I am in return serving the Lord.
 I love the Lord and I would do anything for Him.
He showed us how to care for those around us.
--He was the ultimate example of charity and love--
  I hope that my sincere love for His children can reflect my love of Christ
and also reflect the love that Christ has for these children.
It has taken me a few days to attempt to make sense of all of this...
and this is all I've got so far:

The Savior loves this little girl.

He loves her so much and knows her perfectly.

He can comfort her in a way that I cannot.

She CAN make it through this challenging time in her life and she doesn't have to do it alone.

She will become such an incredible person (I just know it!) and her life can be beautiful despite the cruelty that has been shown to her thus far.

 The Savior is there and LOVES her dearly and will be with her throughout it all.

He will NOT abandon her no matter what happens to her.

The Lord is on HER side.

He has a plan for her.

This little one, so precious in the sight of the Lord, has angels 

watching over her to bear her up in times when she is can't do it alone.

A precious, and royal, daughter of our beloved Heavenly Father will not be forsaken.

He will guide her and protect her.

I thought of how Christ tells us to leave the ninety-and-nine and go attend to the one.

This girl is the one.

She is lost, alone, and scared.

I want to do everything in the world that I can to help her and I will.

But I know that it won't be enough and I instead am grateful that she is so precious to the Lord that He can make up for what I cannot do for her. 

It fills me with wonder and with awe to think that "the worth of souls is great in the sight of God."

 Let me just end this story with a quote by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf that says this all much more eloquently than I ever could. This quote applies to this little girl, to the children here and throughout the world, to me, and to all of you as well.

At times we may even feel insignificant, invisible, alone, or forgotten. 

But always remember—you matter to Him!

You will not feel loneliness, sorrow, pain, or discouragement forever. We have the faithful promise of God that He will neither forget nor forsake those who incline their hearts to Him. Have hope and faith in that promise.

 God sees you not only as a mortal being on a small planet who lives for a brief season—He sees you as His child. He sees you as the being you are capable and designed to become. He wants you to know that you matter to Him. May we ever believe, trust, and align our lives so that we will understand our true eternal worth and potential. 

Just in case you were wondering who you were or who these children are. Watch this cute little video and you'll find out. 

 

I cried so hard when I watched this video because it says "has given me an earthly home with parents kind and dear." While I have been given just that these children have not.

They too are children of God and I earnestly

pray that these children will realize that they have others in their lives 

who can lead them and guide them. 

They are children of God.

You are a child of God.

Do not forget that your children, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, etc. are children of God

and are so precious and have infinite worth!

 If the only thing that I can accomplish here is to show these children

(through kindness and love) that Jesus Christ loves them then 

this trip will be a success.

I love Romania and I am so grateful that 

I have the opportunity to be here to serve these children!

:)