Marry Ann

This story about Marry Ann is really an amazing one. Today the three of use, me, Cris Ann and Marry Ann went to town so Doctor Delgado could read her TB test. The test showed that she was very positive, but everyone could see that by just looking at her.

Marry Ann's dad is in Manila and her mother is gone. She is taken care of by her grandmother, but she is much neglected. Grandma has many little children running around and often they do not have food to eat, so Marry Ann, being as weak as she is, gets treated like the runt of the litter. She doesn't talk much, lays in side all day everyday with a sad, miserable look on her face. I can't remember one time seeing any of the other kids talk to her. She just hangs in the shadows every day, lonely, sick and dying.

Over the last few days, as we were waiting to go back to the doctors, I have spent some time with her. When I go to Cris Ann's everyday to take her home I make sure she is the first child I go to and she gets a hug and a kiss. When I leave, I go to Cris Ann's grandmothers where she sleeps and I wake her up so I can give her a hug and kiss goodbye. I was sitting with her and holding her hand the other day and I started to tell her that she was going to be ok. I told her that we would get the medicine and she would get strong and have energy to play again. I even challenged her to an arm wrestling match when she got better and she accepted.

I told her that I know this because Jesus would provide the medicine and make sure she got better. I told her that He would do this because she was His precious daughter and He is deeply in love with her. She reacted differently to this news. She was amazed and shocked that God was her father and He deeply loves her and is helping her. As I explained how much she was loved by her Father I had to stop a few times and hold back the tears because I could see so much amazement and relief in the eyes of this 40lb 11 year old. I told her to talk to her Father and ask Him for help and He would never leave her. I finished by telling her how He never left me and helped me in my greatest time of need. Cris Ann took some time later that evening to explain more of the 'Good News' to Marry Ann. Often times the Good News is just the good news that we don't have to go to hell because Jesus died, but to Marry Ann it is much more than that. She has found the love and acceptance she has always longed for. She has found the father she never had and she has found hope for her future that she did not have before. The Gospel has changed everything about her, the way she views the world, the way she views herself, the way she acts and thinks in her heart. The Gospel changes everything about those who accept it and continues to change those that have it because it reveals more of God to them, and the more a person knows of Jesus, the more they fall in love; Marry Ann is in love because she has found out that Jesus first loved her.

We have no one to give Marry Ann the meds three times a day and to feed her three times a day so Cris Ann and I will take responsibility for her for the next six months. This is a scary task, but where the Lord guides the Lord provides and I cannot wait to see the Lord heal Marry Ann and to be a part of her life! Please pray that the Lord provides provision for food and water as we add another person to the family. She is not fed properly or looked after where she is so even though we do not have the provision for us all there is no other choice; it is a matter of life and death.

Tomorrow morning I will start Ju-Jitsu class. I am excited to spend some time with the hard to reach high schoolers, kick their butts and then show them how the Good News of Jesus practically and powerfully can affect their lives now. Cris Ann will spend some time with the older girls that come over to watch TV. I am looking forward to see how the Lord works in the hearts of these young men and women....