If this doesn't increase your faith in the Lord, I don't know what will...

Written by Kelly Malloy, missionary in Nigeria:

The story that I am about to tell you is absolutely the most AMAZING and unbelieveable narrative that I have ever written to you. I can imagine that many of you might have a hard time swallowing the details of the story of Emmanuel. Even our Nigerian co-workers have been taken aback by the history of this precious child. One of the pastors on the staff of City Ministries Nigeria is a manager of a Care Center with 10 boys. Pastor Bulus was on an outreach in a remote village. Ambling through a field on the outskirts of the village, he stumbled upon what he believed to be a log. How shocked he was to find that the tiny article at his feet was the wrecked body of a small boy. Lifting the boy into his arms, he raced into the town in search of help.

The villagers disdain was instantaneous as they recounted the story of the emaciated child. Calling the village leaders together, the story was unanumous; the boy had been born to a mad man and a weak woman. He did not thrive after birth, possibly a result of being "tongue tied" and malnourished. At the age of two, he was unable to speak or walk, which was unacceptable to his parents. Blinded by ignorance and fear, they concluded that their son was either a ghost or possessed by a demon. Their only solution was to leave him in the bush to die alone.

And there the boy remained for THIRTEEN YEARS. Alone. The mothers in the village came to the consensus that he was born the same year as their fifteen-year old sons. This area of the country is devoid of streamsand trees. Somehow he survived in the open fileds, subjected to six months of blistering sun, followed by six months of torrential rain. Agreeing that he must be a wicked spirit, the local people never took the child into their village. Never was he fed or clothed. He was never bathed, held, taught to speak, potty-trained, or loved. He experienced neither human contact nor kindness - ever.

Until, that is, the moment that the Lord placed him in the path of Pastor Bulus, a gentle and humble man. Almost immediately, Bulus bathed and clothed the child and placed food before him. The village women scoffed, "He doesn't know how to eat proper food from a plate Throw it in the dirt and let him eat like a dog!" Bulus refused, realizing then that the boy had possibly been filling his stomach with sand and dead leaves his entire life. Bulus pleaded with the village chief, "I will give you half of my salary if you will promise to care for this child in your own home." (His monthly salary is less than one meal at a nice American restaurant.) The chief refused the offer, giving Bulus full permission to take the boy back to the orphan home. Pastor Bulus aptly named him "Emmanuel" which means "God with us".

SIM missionary, Missy Camiola, holding Emmanuel

After spending several days in our Jos hospital, he began to exhibit signs of attachment to several people, and even crawled into my lap and fell asleep. His behaviors most closely resemble the jerky expressions of birds, and he appears to be very at peace in the presence of pastor Bulus, who is an excellent caretaker. Emmanuel weighs 22 pounds.

After three weeks in the City Ministries Nigeria Care Center, he has already learned to walk on shaky legs. He has discovered pounded yam and beans, which he eats from a bowl (that must be placed on the floor. He will not eat if anyone is looking at him. ) Emmanuel does not speak. He has very few human mannerisms, gestures, or noises.

As you can imagine, Emmanuel has a long road ahead of him, learning to live in civilization. Our most sincere prayer for him is that he will come to know the One who has daily protected him from starvation, dehydration, every kind of illness, snakes, countless other atrocities. As Bulus says, "He is a miracle. Only the Lord has been his Shepherd!" Please join us in prayer for Emmanuel and his full restoration. Pray for Pastor Bulus, his wife and the 10 other orphans as they care for and love Emmanuel.

Kelly is the nurse for the kids now (my old job). She's holding Emmanuel. Pastor Bulus found him. You can imagine how badly I wish I was holding him in this picture! Praise the Lord for these two incredible servants of God whom He has used to do miracles!

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,

for the rights of all who are destitute."

Proverbs 31:7-9

Praying for a special Miracle

The above picture was taken in January 2008, when Miracle was 2 months old.

She had just been dedicated to the Lord at church. Nigerians put eye make-up on babies for special occasions. :-)

Please read the story below about Miracle.

Some of you have already heard it - it's fascinating!

And then updated pictures of this sweetheart are at the end.

Written in January 2008:.. My Nigerian 'parents', Reverand Haruna and 'Mommy', took care of Friday, their nephew, for seven years. Just recently Friday died from a sudden sickness at age 12, which devastated Rev. and Mommy. However, God was so good. The day before Friday passed, Mommy was at work at the community health clinic, where she stays for a few nights at a time, since it is outside of Jos. Someone brought in a newborn baby with her umbilical cord still attached. The baby had been abandoned and covered with sand. She was discovered because a dog was biting on her umbilical cord and she began to cry. The mother of the baby, of course, was nowhere to be found. The police interviewed different women in the neighborhood and decided that Mommy was the best candidate to look after the baby while they tried to find her mother. Mommy was caring for her when she received the news that Friday had died. So Mommy bundled her up and took her home with her.

In the midst of the intense grief, God provided a miracle baby to bring joy, comfort and purpose to their lives. I went to their home the day we received the sad news about Friday. When I saw the baby and heard her story I said to Mommy "You must name her Miracle, for indeed she is." She agreed and that is her name. :)

Today...

Two years have passed and Miracle continues to bring happiness and God's love into their home. They see how the Lord was so good to them and His timing was just incredible, giving Miracle to them the day before Friday passed. Rev and Mommy have been wanting to have another baby (have 2 older children), but it has not been possible. They have formally adopted Miracle.

I sent Miracle some Christmas presents. I just received the pictures below - so adorable!!! She's modeling the gifts I sent to her. The picture with the rabbit on her back is so great because she is 'backing her baby' - Nigerian women carry babies on their backs.

Miracle is a child who was chosen by the Lord to be rescued from certain death and adopted into an earthly family who are the perfect God-send to raise her in His Word and His love. My prayer is that is special Miracle will be a mighty Warrior Princess for her King!

Allah ya bamu godiya kowace rana. Ku kwallo masu! = God gives us blessings every day! Watch for them!

It's not just about the sale

This is just tooo cool - I have to share! And it's not about what happens to me - it is about what happens afterwards and how it all fits together :-)

Ok, so it all started a couple months ago. A man at church knew that I was looking for a car to buy. He recommended a large dealership here in Chicago, and specifically two dealers that he had a good experience with previously. One of the men, Bob, is a Christian and the other one, Joe, is not (not their real names). My friend called ahead and 'introduced' me to these two men. I did not tell him what to say - but he explained the whole 'missionary' thing and I figured, well, might was well milk it for what it's worth at this point! :-)

So I arrived and quoted my very low budget and they just looked at me. Then said they would be right back. They came back and offered me a great deal on a great looking car (the make/model will remain anonymous --- keep reading to find out why). So, I bought the car and loved it. Before I left, the non-Christian dealer, Joe, looked at me and said "Erin, there is something different about you. I mean, I can't put my finger on it, but there's something special". I answered "The Lord has changed my life. He is Who you are seeing. I take no credit!". He just smiled and shook his head.

Within two weeks, all sorts of things were going wrong with the car, including the catalytic converter (have no idea), water pump (for what?) and the transmission (I know this is important!)... The guys were so apologetic and so kind and allowed me to return the car, which is super nice because usually a used car is sold 'as is' and sorry ma'am if you have any problems. I spent a lot of time with Joe discussing the problems as they came up, and he kept saying "Erin, man, there is something about you."

Well, I still needed a car. So I spent hours (yeah, I take awhile to make big decisions sometimes) in the dealership deliberating on what car, how much to spend, etc. They ended up giving me such a fantastic deal on a Honda Civic with very low mileage - they only made $28 on the deal!
I knew that they had actually lost money, because of all the time spent the past two weeks on the situation and because the first car was a total loss.

I was about to leave and I was contemplating about how gracious they had been and how I really felt that God not only guided me there to purchase a car, but that He is pursuing Joe's heart and that He wants Joe to know how important he is to God. So, Joe and I were about to close the deal and I was about to leave. We were walking past a brand new, white Hummer in the showroom.

God told me what to do.
I said "What?!"
He said "Do it".
Sigh.

"Hey Joe," I said. Joe turned around.

I put my hand on the Hummer and said with a lot more confidence than I felt, "I really appreciate all that you've done for me. I am going to pray that God will let you be the one to sell this Hummer."

Joe just chuckled and said "You do that."

So I get in my newly purchased "pre-owned" car and started talking to God. "Ahhh! How could you make me say that?! Joe sell the Hummer? It is a huge dealership - lots of employees. That is such an expensive car. How SOO specific is that?! Ok, Lord, it's Your reputation and glory on the line, not mine! I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is an eternal purpose in my buying this car. I know that You are chasing Joe. I know that You want him to know he is important and valuable in Your sight. So, well, God... pllleeeeaaase let him sell that Hummer!"

And that's how my prayers went over the last few weeks.

Folks, I talked to Joe today.

HE SOLD THE HUMMER!!!!!
Wa-hoooo! Go God! Get the Glory!!!

ahhhhh.

It's so funny because I called Joe today with a question about my car and I wanted to say something about the Hummer and was thinking, "Man, I am going to sound foolish". Well.

"So, Joe, don't forget that I am praying that God will let you be the one to sell that Hummer." Cringe.

"Erin! I sold it on Saturday!"


Ahhh, may I become more of a fool, for the glory of God in His pursuit of peoples' souls.

"For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength." 1 Corinthians 1:25