On Sunday the 29th after church I had to visit the local public hospital, the public hospital because one of our sponsored children was there with Dengue fever, and also one of our dance boys, sister, just gave birth to a still born when she went into premature labor … we were there to care for them.

It is always a running joke that I should go into the hospital in disguise because I always end up with more patients coming out then when I go into the place … and believe me this day was no different.

As I entered the pediatric ward I was immediately struck with the figure of a person sitting at the very end of the ward … they looked so frail … bald … sad … and at first it looked as if they had been burnt all over their head …

I was trying very hard to remain focused on the patient that I was there to care for but I was so drawn to find out more about this obviously desperate person. While at the nurses station we were asking about this young person. Turns out she is a young lady of 17 years and she was ready for discharge from the hospital. We offered to buy medications or anything that she may need but the nurse assured us that they were complete …something we thought was very unusual for someone that has no watcher caring for them.

We went back to our young child but still curiosity and concern won over and two of went over and sat on her bed and began to talk with her. At first she was uncomfortable with our presence … I could just talk with her for a little while because I feel very deeply moved by her condition. As we sat and held her hand the only part of her body that didn’t have any wounds the tears began to flow down her cheeks over her pussy wounds … she whispered I just want to be healed …

She informed us that she was abandoned by her parents at the age of 2 years and was left with her aunty … she had reached grade 6 and wants to be a teacher. And that she has been in the hospital for 2 months because she had severe pneumonia.

Then before I knew what I was doing I asked her if she wanted to come and live with us as we would be able to love her and provide all the care that she needs. It was a bit of a shock because the words literally came out of my mouth before I realized what I was doing. To my shock she said yes … meaning the reality of her coming to our house was beginning to sink in.

If you could have seen her condition and status in that place … if you could have smelt that stench of stale urine … seen the cat running under the bed … seen the people all starring and pointing and asking personal and stupid questions. If you could have seen the rags that she was wearing for clothing … and felt her heart when the tears fell down her cheeks you too would have been compelled to ask her into your home. At first we thought she was burnt but there is just such a terrible infection all over her face and head … she has wounds all over her body … ulcers and bed sores. Oh my gosh … I was immediately reminded of when we first found Salvador in the same hospital being treated the same way … and suffering the same humiliation and sense of desperation and hopelessness.

Our hearts were overwhelmed with love and concern for Liza … we wanted her to know that we weren’t just wanting to talk to her and ask questions and then leave her … so in a kind of desperate desire to let her know we loved her we rushed off to the nearest shopping mall to buy her a pink t shirt with a butterfly on it and some matching pants. She also wanted some ice cream …

When we came back she was soooo happy with the clothing and the ice cream it was worth every peso spent. It was perfect timing because her Aunt was there too and we were about to ask if Liza could come and live with us when before we could speak her Aunty blurted out that she has no money for the hospital bill and that although the hospital is saying she is ready for discharge she doesn’t want her there because her face still looks swollen and ugly! And they don’t have any more resources to buy her ongoing medical needs.

So we offered to take her off her Aunts hands and we paid the bill and took her with us … there and then. Liza weighs 24 kilograms … and is 17 years of age.

She wasn’t able to walk as she was so weak and frail. So we had to carry her on a chair everywhere. It wasn’t until we took her clothing off to change her that we saw how desperate her condition was.

I had brought Salvador to the ward when we came back to pick up Liza and he just stood in front of her and wept as he remembered his time and condition in the same place. He was deeply moved as he looked upon her and saw the level of her suffering. He spoke words of encouragement and showed off some of his scars and shared of the power of love in action and how she has a future and a hope in Jesus. It was awesome and deeply moving. There isn’t a single member of our team that hasn’t been deeply affected by her condition and suffering … we have a strong faith that Liza has a wonderful future before her.

Her Aunt came to the house with us because she hadn’t eaten and she wanted to see where Liza was going to be living. We went out and bought her some clothing … a mattress and other things that she will be needing while she is living with us.

When we returned we gave them both food and then took the Aunt home because some of the girls from the house wanted to know where Liza had been living.

When they returned from the house they were all crying as they relayed the conditions that Liza had been living in.

She was literally living in an area where the chicken cages are … in a dark place under a house. Dirt floor … rubbish all around … as they were sobbing in between words they were saying how our chickens live better than where Liza was living.

Her Aunty lives in a house very very small but not a chicken cage like Liza was living. This is what has given her this terrible infection … she is allergic to chickens and being in this environment has nearly cost her, her life. She was living worse than most animals …

We decided to help the family that had treated Liza so badly with food and clothing …medicines … toys and anything else we could gather together from our house, we have seen so many times love melt the hardest of hearts. So 9 of us launched out on a midnight grocery drop! This was the only time we would have to go there as we had many appointments for Liza medical needs.

When we arrived the family was obviously asleep but they were excited to wake up to gifts of food and the other things we had brought. We took this chance to take photos of where Liza had been made to live and understood the desperate situation of this young girl … how could we return to that place …. ??? There was no door on the front of the place and you had to crouch down on all fours just to get into the place where she was to stay. The floor was dirt … and the stench of urine was overwhelming because the family that lived upstairs would just urinate through the bamboo and it would land where Liza was made to stay. The rats, cats, cockroaches all roaming freely in this place that was Liza’s home.

It is no wonder that she had such an infection over her face and body.

Right Liza on IV antibiotics

It turned out that Liza suffers from the condition called Lupus. She was untreated and under such stress … that it was worsening her condition. We discovered there was some heart and kidney damage but remarkably that is recovering and she is doing well.

This is Liza today … she is doing well.