The rainy season has a month or so left. Yesterday the rains came hard for over four hours and this morning still finds many of the streets like canal streets in Venice. The flimsy cobbled wood homes were washed away or left a kilter. The stronger cement built homes have their bottom floors with a foot of water in them. Chan Thou’s( our security and driver) neighbor went to pick some greens from the pond by their home while it was raining. The pond had grown because of the heavy rainfall; she slipped in the mud into the pond and drown as she can’t swim. After a few hours everyone notice she hadn’t returned. The men in the neighborhood dove in and one lifted her out by her legs. The water was deep and thick with mud. Chan Thou tried mouth to mouth resuscitation, but it was too late. She was cremated this morning.
Little Ping is eight years old. He lives and works at the brick factory with his mom and 7 other siblings. Their shelter is flooded out. He came to the clinic today to see if he could get help for his skin. It’s all blistery and infected. He works all day mushing up the dirt and clay to make the bricks. They don’t have a clean source of water. He can’t’ come to Kids’ Club because he has to work. So Kid’s Club comes to him every Tuesday and Thursday.
When the disciples are finished with Kid’s Club at Rahab’s House, they take it on tour to the different brick factories. So twice a week he gets a break from work to learn about the love of Christ and the knowledge that God has a better plan for his life. He learns some songs, he plays some games and he gets a snack. He would love to come to Rahab’s House every day. He did come today to get his skin cleaned up, some ointment, vitamins and a bunch of people fussing over him telling him how brave he is, what a handsome fellow, so clever. He left happy. I pray soon everyday will be like that for him.
It was just another day here, struggling to live in harsh conditions to survive. Ping’s smile as he left brightened this day. He’s not smiling below, but he did when he left.
- Ping receiving medical care
