Miracles.
We can't explain them and there's no use trying. We don't get to choose how, why, or even when God performs them. He decides and His ways are perfect.
Mariflor is a miracle. That is the name of the beautiful, little girl whom the Suchers have taken in from Redemption Village.
I haven't shared the full story with you yet because, not knowing God's plan, I've felt the need to be cautious. I'm not one who likes to get my hopes up, nor others', if there is any level of uncertainty (and believe me when I say there has been a lot of uncertainty here).
Yet there's something about uncertainty that makes leaning upon the Lord a whole lot easier.
I first met Mariflor back in January during my first week in the D.R. Barb had taken me to visit Redemption Village and we stopped by to check on Mariflor's health. Barb had been keeping an eye on her health since the previous fall where her heart was first captured by this precious child.
I remember walking down the dirt road and stopping at a little shack with a family-run colmado out front. The grandmother emerged from the house greeting us and bringing Mariflor out for us to see. If you know Mariflor now, you wouldn't believe the frailty in her little body. Her legs and arms were so tiny and her tummy was swollen, a common sign of malnourished children.
She had no diaper on and the grandmother thrusted her into Barb's arms. Mariflor was so quiet amidst the present chaos of Creole and Spanish translations. She just stared so intently up at Barb with the biggest brown eyes.
We went back to check on her weekly until one week in February when she was so ill. At 10 months old, she was easily at a 5-6 month development stage and less than 12 lbs. Rick and Barb took her to the medical center where the doctors prescribed the appropriate medicines and care. The Suchers decided, with the grandmother's urging, to keep Mariflor until the medical care was completed.
Even then, I was guarding myself from becoming attached to her, which proved to be a difficult task. I was living under the same roof as the Suchers, so I saw Mariflor every day and witnessing just how weak she was. The first day she was with us, she was so subdued and couldn't even muster enough strength to roll over on the bed.
All we wanted to do was hold and love this little baby and hope that maybe, somehow, the love we had would transfer and be absorbed into every fiber in her tiny body.
At the end of her medical care, Rick and Barb went to give her back to the grandparents to be told, "No, ella es tuya," in other words, "She's yours."
You can imagine the surprise, shock, joy, stress, fear, anxiety, love, and confusion that exploded that day. The Sucher girls were ecstatic that they could have a baby sister, while the adults were filled with concern that brought us to our knees in prayer.
What just happened? And just when Rick and Barb thought they were past the days of baby bottles and pacifiers... Funny how God works.
If I actually spent the time writing out all the stories, the ups and downs, the tears and the laughter, the prayers and the miracles that these past months have carried with Mariflor, it would take millions upon millions of words. Mariflor came to us in February so malnourished with sickle cell anemia to the point of lifelessness. Today, she is now one of the most joyful, intelligent, and rotund little babies I've ever seen.
THAT is a miracle. I'm no doctor, but looking at her today, I'd say she's been touched by the healing hand of our Savior... and He's still working.
The Suchers have been teaching Mariflor about the love of her Savior and she has learned to praise our Lord with the words "Amen" and "Hallelujah!" She is growing everyday, learning how to talk, and using her sturdy legs to walk everywhere. I thank the Lord for bringing her into the Suchers' lives and mine.
I've decided to reach out to my faithful prayer warriors here and abroad through this entry. One thing the Lord is planting deep in my spirit is the knowledge of how powerful the prayers of the upright are. He wants to hear our prayers and for us to be rooted in His peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:4-7). He gives to those who ask in faith (Matthew 7:7-10) and He withholds no good thing from those who walk uprightly (Psalm 84:11).
So I'm coming to you to ask for your prayers. The Suchers have plans to return to the states the end of September through November, and the only way they can bring Mariflor with them is for certain papers to be approved here in the Dominican. Government processes here are difficult and long, so we are asking for a miracle. God's hand is clearly upon Mariflor and we are simply praying that God's will be done in this situation.
There is something so beautiful about loving another's child as your own. So many of the missionaries here are in the process of adopting children they were never searching or asking for... yet God knew all along who He wanted to care for His children. You can't prevent the Lord from filling you with a love that He's intended for you to share with others.
I don't plan on pulling a Katie Davis and adopting 14 girls, but the Lord has been stirring something deep in me for the abandoned, forgotten, and unloved children of this world. I know I wont have to go searching, but the Lord will guide my every step.
Thank you for your prayers for the Suchers and Mariflor! We are trusting in God's perfect timing and will.
We can't explain them and there's no use trying. We don't get to choose how, why, or even when God performs them. He decides and His ways are perfect.
Mariflor is a miracle. That is the name of the beautiful, little girl whom the Suchers have taken in from Redemption Village.
I haven't shared the full story with you yet because, not knowing God's plan, I've felt the need to be cautious. I'm not one who likes to get my hopes up, nor others', if there is any level of uncertainty (and believe me when I say there has been a lot of uncertainty here).
Yet there's something about uncertainty that makes leaning upon the Lord a whole lot easier.
I first met Mariflor back in January during my first week in the D.R. Barb had taken me to visit Redemption Village and we stopped by to check on Mariflor's health. Barb had been keeping an eye on her health since the previous fall where her heart was first captured by this precious child.
I remember walking down the dirt road and stopping at a little shack with a family-run colmado out front. The grandmother emerged from the house greeting us and bringing Mariflor out for us to see. If you know Mariflor now, you wouldn't believe the frailty in her little body. Her legs and arms were so tiny and her tummy was swollen, a common sign of malnourished children.
She had no diaper on and the grandmother thrusted her into Barb's arms. Mariflor was so quiet amidst the present chaos of Creole and Spanish translations. She just stared so intently up at Barb with the biggest brown eyes.
We went back to check on her weekly until one week in February when she was so ill. At 10 months old, she was easily at a 5-6 month development stage and less than 12 lbs. Rick and Barb took her to the medical center where the doctors prescribed the appropriate medicines and care. The Suchers decided, with the grandmother's urging, to keep Mariflor until the medical care was completed.
Even then, I was guarding myself from becoming attached to her, which proved to be a difficult task. I was living under the same roof as the Suchers, so I saw Mariflor every day and witnessing just how weak she was. The first day she was with us, she was so subdued and couldn't even muster enough strength to roll over on the bed.
All we wanted to do was hold and love this little baby and hope that maybe, somehow, the love we had would transfer and be absorbed into every fiber in her tiny body.
You can imagine the surprise, shock, joy, stress, fear, anxiety, love, and confusion that exploded that day. The Sucher girls were ecstatic that they could have a baby sister, while the adults were filled with concern that brought us to our knees in prayer.
What just happened? And just when Rick and Barb thought they were past the days of baby bottles and pacifiers... Funny how God works.
If I actually spent the time writing out all the stories, the ups and downs, the tears and the laughter, the prayers and the miracles that these past months have carried with Mariflor, it would take millions upon millions of words. Mariflor came to us in February so malnourished with sickle cell anemia to the point of lifelessness. Today, she is now one of the most joyful, intelligent, and rotund little babies I've ever seen.
THAT is a miracle. I'm no doctor, but looking at her today, I'd say she's been touched by the healing hand of our Savior... and He's still working.
The Suchers have been teaching Mariflor about the love of her Savior and she has learned to praise our Lord with the words "Amen" and "Hallelujah!" She is growing everyday, learning how to talk, and using her sturdy legs to walk everywhere. I thank the Lord for bringing her into the Suchers' lives and mine.
So I'm coming to you to ask for your prayers. The Suchers have plans to return to the states the end of September through November, and the only way they can bring Mariflor with them is for certain papers to be approved here in the Dominican. Government processes here are difficult and long, so we are asking for a miracle. God's hand is clearly upon Mariflor and we are simply praying that God's will be done in this situation.
There is something so beautiful about loving another's child as your own. So many of the missionaries here are in the process of adopting children they were never searching or asking for... yet God knew all along who He wanted to care for His children. You can't prevent the Lord from filling you with a love that He's intended for you to share with others.
I don't plan on pulling a Katie Davis and adopting 14 girls, but the Lord has been stirring something deep in me for the abandoned, forgotten, and unloved children of this world. I know I wont have to go searching, but the Lord will guide my every step.
Thank you for your prayers for the Suchers and Mariflor! We are trusting in God's perfect timing and will.
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