Love Has a Face

My birthday was last month and I received a book from my mother in law entitled "Love Has a Face". She asked the other day if I'd read the book, to which I responded, I've read a bit....Lie. Sorry Mom. Anyways my guilt led me to crack the cover today and what I read brought a lot of tears.

Heidi Baker writes;

"I was left with one lone visitor. He was a slim man of middle age. his shoulders sagged under and unseen weight. he looked heavier than i felt. i walked over to him and introduced myself. he went on to tell me that his daughter had died in childbirth a few weeks back. she had given birth to a small son. with the mother gone, his family had no way to feed the baby. it was a story that has repeated itself countless times in these parts. according to some, southern Sudan is the second most expensive place in the world. Yes, you read the words correctly. it is second to Tokyo. in the southern Sudanese capital of Juba, a small mud hut worthy of being condemned can go for a s much as two thousand U.S. dollars a month. and it costs well over a hundred dollars a month to feed an infant on formula. the average salary, if a person is fortunate enough to have one at all, is about half that. the grandfather told me the this baby, not yet two weeks old, had been fed on cornmeal and water. the options were obvious. if we did not take this little one, he would certainly die. i told the man to bring me the baby so we could see him. i knew how dangerous this would be. he was my first baby. i knew that as soon as i laid eyes on him, there would be no letting him go, no matter how expensive he was. as the man left our compound to retrieve the baby, i asked God, 'What is the baby's name?' Immediately the reply came His name is Immanuel. I thought God was being figurative and was trying to give me encouragement that He was with us, as Immanuel means God with us. A short while later the man returned with a small bundle in his arms. i looked at this tiny form almost completely hidden by the four layers of fabric wrapped around him. i asked what the baby's name was, 'his name is Immanuel,' the man said. I could scarcely believe my ears. God, are you really here? i had asked. my silent prayer had been answered in a baby named Immanuel. Tears began to build in my eyes. with wonder i took him in my arms, peering into the sleeping face of God's answer to my question, and thus baby Ima became our smallest family member yet. He was frail and sickly, but he was a fighter. he survived all the faltering attempts of someone who knew nothing about babies. he lived through a measles outbreak and a cholera epidemic. he made it through growing up his first year in a large family. now he is a downright fat toddler. every day he toddles around on his chubby legs with a huge grin that continually reminds us, God is indeed with us."


When Nate showed up on our doorstep we didn't know his name. We knew it was a little boy who was barely 6LBS and needed a loving home. Later we learned his name was, Nathen which means 'gift from God'. That's what Nathen is, a gift from God. He is a daily blessing. We trust that there are two gifts from God somewhere in Africa right now and we pray they have someone like Heidi in their lives! We love and pray for our future forever children. We love and thank God daily for our foster son Nate the Great!!!

p.s. thanks for the book mom!