Alejandra

Moved by His Compassion www.movedbyhiscompassion.comWORLD VISION CHILD SPONSORSHIP As a child sponsor, you are connected with one special child who will know your name, write to you and feel your tender love and prayers. Your child sponsorship monthly pledge of $30 will provide a child with things such as:Clean Water Nutritious Food Health Care Educational Opportunities Spiritual Nurture www.worldvision.orgTHE BLESSING OF GIVING Baptist Church. They had 9,000 gifts inside this trailer.www.samaritanspurse.org www.acfiphilippines.comASIAN CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION Our History Two little girls living on the streets of ManilaMany have asked Steve Deal about the little girl who lived in the cemetery that God used to burden his heart to build a home for street children. He named that home after Grace. This is her story.On a sunny December day in 1998, Steve was eating breakfast at a local restaurant in Lipa City while reading the Manila Bulletin newspaper. An article on the front page with a picture of three children caught his eye. In short, the article described how children were living in a cemetery in Metro Manila. Over 50 orphaned or abandoned children, from 5 to 18 years of age lived in this one cemetery among the tombs. They were literally starving to death. In the photo three children were pictured each sniffing glue from a plastic bag.The article told of the visit made by a social worker, some medical personnel and the journalist who wrote the story. It was learned that most if not all of the children were very sick with TB or with an STD (sexually transmitted disease). The following is a quote from that article. Keep in mind that graveyards in the Philippines are much like those in south Louisiana. The dead are buried above ground in concrete houses, which in some cases resembles a tiny city.€œThey chase each other down narrow passage ways and jump from grave to grave like alley cats. They wriggle up to the roofs of mausoleums to fly makeshift kites, then take shelter inside from tropical downpours. They sleep sprawled out on tombstones and defecate in quiet corners, giggling at unexpected passers-by.€œThey beg in a nearby market for food and wander the streets looking for sex. They let adults have sex with them for as little as P30 (pesos, about 75 US cents) to support their glue habit.€œSitting on a tombstone a few steps away, nine year old Grace tells an aid worker why she keeps on squatting and grabbing her stomach: she is being raped regularly by one of the 18-year-olds. Grace, wearing a grubby green and white striped T-shirt and a glazed grin cheered up after social worker Francia Cabrea promised her shoes for Christmas, then took her to a shelter.€œWhen these children get their 30 pesos they have a choice, Cabrea said. They can either buy rice, which will feed them for one day. Or they can get a bottle of glue, which will stave off the pain of hunger and abandonment every day for one month.€?Steve Deal€™s heart was aching and deeply touched. He began to pray that God would send someone to help these children, especially little Grace. For the next few months, he continued noticing articles in the newspaper about abandoned street children. One article he read said there were more than 1.5 million street children in the Philippines. He began to pray more for these children, and then God began to speak directly to his heart. At first Steve reminded God of how busy he already was. He had no time to stop and build a children€™s home, then run it after it was built. So he asked God if He really had the right person, and He assured Steve He had. Finally, Steve submitted to follow His leadership in this endeavor. He immediately began to pray about what he should do. The rest is history.In the next few months, God not only miraculously provided for the building of the Home of Grace that can house up to 30 children, but also provided the funds for the purchase of four acres for the future home of the Redemption Ranch. Hopefully, when completed, the ranch will house up to 200 abandoned and orphaned street children.As for the little girl, Grace, Steve began searching for her immediately. Of course, with nearly 19 million in Metro Manila it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. The only clues he had were her first name and the name of the social worker that took her to a shelter. He offered a reward of $100 to anyone who could lead to her location. Another missionary matched his offer and they had hoped to locate her quickly. Only until recently have they really found out what happened to her. This is the rest of her heart-wrenching story.In October 1999, little Grace was taken to a government shelter by the social worker. At the shelter, she began to run a high fever. She was diagnosed as having an STD. Steve had been in many of the hospitals in the Philippines and had seen many patients suffer due to lack of medicine or the funds to buy the medicine they need. Grace had no one to pay her bill, and there was no extra medicine to give a little suffering girl. Grace suffered as much at the end of her little life as she did during her few short years. Finally, her suffering was over. The hospital had her tiny body cremated to avoid extra expense of a burial plot. Her leaving this world was as unnoticeable as her arrival, much like incinerating unwanted trash. But this little girl wasn€™t trash; she was precious in the eyes of a loving God.In her brief little life only a few people ever knew her. She was abandoned by her prostitute mother on the streets of Metro Manila as a mere baby. Taking refuge in a cemetery, she was raped every day and never once ate what you and I would call a meal. She learned from older children in this situation that cheap shoe glue would take away the pains and loneliness and put her in a dream world. Quickly she learned this was only temporal and she was once again back in the horrifying life in the cemetery.Although her horrific story had an even more terrible ending, we believe that little Grace has now found refuge in the arms of a loving, caring God at her eternal Home of Grace. You can rest assured; no one will ever harm this child again. Because of her story, many children like her will be protected, well fed, and educated in the comfort of a Christian home. Never having to sell their little bodies for food or sniff glue to stave off hunger. By the grace of God they will hear of Jesus€™ love every day. Please pray for us to help more children, so they won€™t have to live and suffer like little Grace.www.kidsworldwide.orgKIDS Worldwide es una organización sin ánimo de lucro, no religiosa, que soporta el bienestar y el crecimiento de niños abandonados y desaventajados. A través de un servicio de compresión y de visión universal, voluntarios de todo el mundo dan a los niños una posibilidad para desarrollar su verdadero potencial.KIDS Worldwide is a nonprofit, non-religious organization which supports the well-being and holistic growth of abandonned and disadvantaged children. Through compassionate service and the nurturing of a univeralistic outlook, volunteers from around the world give children a chance to realize their true potential.