Abigail and Project Life

The following post is an excerpt from a newsletter I receive from a friend in the Philippines. She is working among the urban poor.

Abigail

"There are 17 applicants for our student sponsorship program. A sponsor would like to sponsor a girl. So, I went through the application, I spotted a girl named Abigail. She is 11 years old and is still in 3rd grade. I reviewed the applications again, but still Abigail is in my heart. So, I went to 12th Street and just did an investigation and asked the people there about her. There were so many negative words said about her. And then I talked to Abigail and asked her if she goes to school, She said "no". She burst out into tears. She said that she didn't know where her mother is, her brothers and sisters were all given to different people and she was the only one left to her father who sells umbrellas in the street. She waits for her dad to come home every night because she is afraid to sleep because some of the boys who take rugby[see NOTE] stay outside their small apartment. Some nights her dad wouldn't even come home. I heard her heart's cry. I felt God is telling me, she's the one we are to help. Sometimes, people choose people based on their good reputation, looks, etc. But God looks at the heart. He chooses ordinary people not because they are good but because He is good."

The Old Woman

"Last Sunday, I was on a tricycle going home, I saw an old lady crawling across the street. Her left leg was cut off. I got out of the tricycle and tried to help her. She said, she is used to crawling. She was on her way to a church. She had no wheel chair because it costs P3000 (US$67) and is very expensive[NOTE 2] for her. I took her address and the mobile number of the pastor and I would try to look for a sponsor to give her a wheelchair. Then yesterday, someone called me up and she said, she's going to donate a wheelchair. Praise God! I picked it up this morning and delivered it to the old lady. God is so faithful."

NOTE: Rugby is the name of a cheap glue that children buy to sniff the fumes. Addictive, it is often used to lessen the hunger pangs.

NOTE 2: This woman probably lives with one dollar a day.

Photo: DOULOS