At three years old, Marina has had a lifetime of health problems. She’s dealt with a cleft palette, gangrene, multiple amputations, blood problems, skin disease and some conditions I don’t even know the names of. I wrote a little article back in December about masks and this frail little girl.

It’s been six months since that time, and she’s actually a bit of a pioneer in the Mother’s Care ministry. She’s now the first child under our custody. After two years of wrestling with paperwork, government and hospital administration, she is now under our custody. Sonya, a Ukrainian on our team, is her official guardian.

What makes this situation unique for me, is that my nephew at home is a week younger than she is, and their lives are so vastly different. Marina has spent her entire life on a hospital bed and it’s evident by her health and development. Isaiah can speak clear conversations, run like crazy, and beat rhythms on his drums. Marina doesn’t even have the mechanics to do any of this at the moment.

She just had surgery this past Thursday, and when Marina’s recovered well enough for travel, she and Sonya will be flying to the United States where there are doctors ready to help her. Most importantly, she’ll be out of the orphanage system and with people who will give her the time and care that a little girl needs.

Ultimately, Mother’s Care wants to set up a home to minister to more children like Marina. Imagine a place where all children can feel loved and valued, no matter what their situation is. That will soon become a reality as the funds are raised to set up such a home.

In other news, we’ve had some visitors from the states this past weekend. A few nurses from Pennsylvania stopped by for a weekend to teach us. They specialize in physical therapy specifically for helping children develop. Babies in the hospitals are left in their cribs nearly all day. Because of this, they don’t get the exercise and the movement that they need, which causes other health and growth issues. We were taught techniques for helping our little guys loosen their stiff muscles and lend a hand in developing their motor and language skills.

The weekend was very beneficial for us and for the children we work with. I look forward, this week, to applying some of the things we’ve learned. God is good and is really equipping us to help His kids.

¶ 12:30 AM

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