A day in China...

Today, October 24, I'm in China with some of our team visiting two of the children and their families whom ChinaHeart support. It's a long day on the road as many of our children are in remote rural settings. These two are no different. Let me share with you the story of one child.

Xuemei is 10 years old and we spent time with her during her lunch break from school. She is doing well in class and in her sports with a number of awards proudly displayed by her father. There is no mum in the family, it's a very sad tale to bear and one that to most wont make any sense.

A man and his wife and two children were traveling to a new area. On the way they came across a newborn baby girl dumped on the side of the road. Just lying there, no possessions... no explanations. Many others saw the child but just ignored her, walked around her, and left her on the roadside.

But this man could not do that, he could not just ignore this beautiful little living creature and walk on. He attends church many Sundays when he isn't working and clearly something in his spirit those 10 years ago knew that leaving the girl on the roadside was the wrong thing to do. That this baby girl deserved to be rescued and given a chance at life. There didn't appear to be anything physically wrong with her. Probably she had been dumped simply because she was a girl.

So he scooped her up and brought her with him. But his wife was not happy. They already had two children, what on earth was he doing bringing a third into the family...and a dumped girl at that.

They began to argue. His wife simply could not agree that this child, whom everyone else was walking around and leaving to die by the road, deserved a chance to live. The child had been dumped by her own parents, she must be worthless, she will not be a part of this family was the wife's decision. This lead to the marriage ending and the husband being forced to leave.

Ten years on the girl and the man who rescued her, whom she only knows as her dad, are living in a cave lined with cement. It's about the size of many kitchens, but that's their entire house. At best he earns about $850 Australian (or roughly $US690) per year.

It was a sad time hearing their story. He clearly loves his daughter greatly and knows the heart of the Father for His child. How could we not support this family...