"He has to have a name!"

    

After playing with the older children in the courtyard, and after holding the toddlers, we head into a TINY but bright room where the infants are.  There are about 6 of them in this tiny little room.  The nannies due to best they can, but really do they ever go outside this room?  How much are they held and talked to?  We're taking turns holding the babies, talking to them, and reading their bio note (if they have one) when my friend asks, "What is his name?"  He's a tiny cute little thing about a month old.  He's baby "d".  He doesn't have a name, the nanny replies.  We explain through a language barrier that we know that his name is blank on his bio note, but we still want to know what his name is.  She still replies that he doesn't have a name.

Not only had this child been left at a church at birth, but he still, even at a month old, didn't have a name.  Why didn't he have name?  A lot of children + a few nannies who are underpaid + high turnover nannies + an orphanage with no money = a child in the corner with no name.  

Well, this just wasn't going to do.  My friend, LeaAnne, said that he has to have a name.  So, there in that tiny little yellow room, we throw out some names.  When we came to Elijah, which means God's grace, LeaAnne said that's it.  So, we find a pen, and she wrote it on his bio.  So, just like that he went from baby "d" to Elijah and had someone standing with him in his corner.

When we met Elijah, we knew that something wasn't quite right.  His head was a little too big for his cute little body.  Again, my friend, LeaAnne stood with him in his corner and advocated for him to go to the doctor.  She advocated the next day.  She advocated the next day.  She advocated the next day.  She advocated the next day.  

We returned to that orphanage before we left, and again she advocated for little Elijah to go to the doctor.  When we got home, she continued advocating for him to go to the doctor.

Yesterday's text...The doctor doesn't give him more than a month or two to live unless he has brain surgery.  Please please pray!

It's heartbreaking news!  But we serve a mighty God, and he hears our prayers.  So, please join us as we lift up our prayers for little Elijah - for medical miracles - for financial miracles.