A couple days before we picked up our two children from Ethiopia, I stumbled across the above verse and I just could not help but to praise the Lord for hearing the cries of our children. Then, while we were in Ethiopia, we saw specific ways the Lord has responded to the cries of our two children. Let us share with you their stories so that you too will marvel at God’s disposition to hear the cries of the poor and needy.
The director of our son Kaden’s orphanage said that Kaden was their very first orphan. Sadly, Kaden was abandoned on the road at just one day old. But a man named Erjabo found Kaden and took him to the orphanage. Kaden was very sick and, in the opinion of the orphanage workers, close to death. The director said he couldn’t sleep for four days out of concern for Kaden. Erjabo and the orphanage workers saved Kaden’s life. We thus have decided to give Kaden a second middle name “Erjabo” in this man’s honor. Of the millions upon millions of orphans in Ethiopia (not to mention Africa or the whole world), God responded to Kaden’s cry for life and sent Erjabo to rescue him.
Our daughter Makyra’s story is even more sobering. Her mother went into labor when she was only 7 months along and short after giving birth to Makyra, she died. In the midst of mourning for her death, Makyra was neglected and went without any milk for three days. The director of her orphanage said that she was forgotten by all. But not by our Lord. A government official put Makyra in a bag and brought her to the orphanage. She was not breathing and had to be hospitalized for 11 days. The kindness of the Lord through the Christian orphanage workers saved her life. Thank you God for hearing Makyra’s cry.
And how does God respond to the cries of the afflicted? Most often through his children. The director of the orphanage is a believer who used to go out and share the Gospel with street boys. He started a home for these boys so that when they came to Christ, there could be a home for discipleship and for meeting their daily needs. Recently he has become a director of one of the orphanages here in Africa because, as he said, “he must obey the commands of God.” He explained that before the Christians took over the orphanage, all the babies died. He said that only those who know the love of God are able to give these children the love and care they need. The Ethiopian government does not have a program for orphans. It is predominately the Christians who are caring for the helpless.
We felt nothing but the love of Christ in every hand that has cared for our children. Yes, these people are heroes; there is no doubt about it. But it would be incomplete to stop there: It is God motivating their love. It is God who has heard the cries of our children and has saved their lives. May the Lord save many more and may we as the church be his hands and feet to save the lives of the afflicted and feed the hungry.
