While staying at Kids International Ministries, K.I.M., I
had the privilege of meeting a gorgeous, 
18 month old, tiny girl named Raya.
Her sad face stole my heart the first time I looked into her huge eyes with
mile-long eyelashes. Her family, who could not get her well, from the fever and
illness she was fighting, had brought Raya to the orphanage. She has been under
the care of a Canadian nurse, who came to the Philippines expecting to stay 6
months, but has been here 2 years and has no plans of leaving any time soon.
She explained that baby Raya was a sad child and has never smiled in her 18
months of life. My heart broke for this precious child.
I began praying for Raya, that she could feel the love and
joy of Christ. The next morning, a friend was holding her and playing with her
when she first smiled. I heard about it and praised God for answering my
prayers. It brought me joy, but I still longed to see her smile. The next day, I spent the whole morning
with Raya. While holding her, I can’t help myself from loving her with
everything I have; my heart was her’s. Raya is not used to much stimulation and is very sensitive to touch. Her
freedom loving feet enjoyed pulling off her tiny, pink striped socks, which
became a game. As I rubbed my thumb against the bottom of her petite foot she
acted as if she had never felt such a thing before. While tossing her balled-up
socks and catching them God gave me a gift, two gifts in fact. On either side
of Raya’s smile was a dimple in her cheek. 🙂
