In an hour, Julie was back with a smile on her face. A few minutes later Daya arrived wearing street clothes and carrying a grocery sack in one hand and a clean Shara wearing new clothes in the other.
Julie gathered Shara in her arms.
“Oh, it’s a clean baby! I love clean babies.” She cradled Shara, gooing and cooing and gently rocking. She hoisted Shara to her shoulder, patted her on the back several times, and the baby spit up, covering the entire left side of Julie’s dress with formula. Julie stared in unbelief at the large wet spot covered in curdled milk. The tension was broken. The boys shrieked and laughed. Wilson even fell backward on the grass. The girls giggled. Julie held Shara at arm’s length.
Sammy looked confused. When the laughter subsided, he whispered to Ravi, who turned to Julie, “Sammy does not understand why someone feeds the baby milk and then you cause the baby to get rid of the milk.”
“Tell him it was an accident.” There was not a lot Julie could do to clean up, so Daya reached into the sack and pulled out a luscious, rectangular, cream-filled pastry covered with powdered sugar and a cherry on top. Even Julie gasped.
“Is this poisoned?” he asked with a sly smile. “I think not, or I would not do this.” Then he took the biggest bite he could fit in his mouth, so big he had trouble chewing. Powdered sugar rimmed his lips. All the children laughed and clapped, and then he handed another pastry to Julie.
“Mmmmm. There is nothing wrong with this!” She opened her mouth wide and shoved the pastry as far in as she could. That was all it took, manners were once again forgotten. It was a mad scramble for the grocery sack and the powdered sugar was flying!
When the last bite was swallowed, Ravi looked at the powdered sugar on Sammy’s face and hands and burst out laughing. Praveen looked at the sugar on Ravi’s face and did the same. In a minute, they were all pointing and belly laughing their stress away.
Sammy walked up to Daya and reached his two arms high in an invitation to be held. Without hesitation Daya scooped him up and wrapped his arms around him. Sammy’s sugar smudged face broke into a gap-toothed grin as he beamed down at the others.
Daya had earned their trust and was soon teaching the boys self-defense, much to their delight.
“This is called Krav Maga. I teach this at the police academy. You will get in shape, be healthier, and have more energy.” He pushed up his sleeve and flexed his muscles. The boys pointed and gasped. “I will teach you what actually works. No one can hurt you if you learn.”
After class it turned into a free-for-all with the guys against Daya. They jumped on his back; they clung to his muscular legs and tried in vain to restrain him. Daya stretched his arms and flexed his muscles and Praveen and Wilson grabbed hold and Daya lifted them off the ground.
He’s a gentle giant, thought Julie. All the girls laughed, and Nilaya crawled on Julie’s lap to watch the commotion. Julie’s heart did flip-flops as she embraced her with both arms.
Wow, Lord. When You move, things go fast!
Sammy hung on the fringes, afraid to join in the ruckus. Daya scooped him up and placed him on his shoulders.
“Hold on, Sammy.” He turned to the boys.
“Sammy and I challenge you all.” Sammy clung to Daya’s head and shrieked and laughed as Daya caught and then deposited each boy on the ground.
“The winner and still champion,” Daya called out as he held Sammy’s right arm above his head, “Is Sammy. Yay, Sammy.” All the girls clapped and cheered.
“Way to go, Sammy.”
“You did it, Sammy.” Daya couldn’t see it, but Sammy’s eyes brimmed with joy.
The boys demanded one more round, and in the end Daya took a dive so they could experience sweet victory. They pinned him and declared themselves the awesome winners.
Thank You, Lord! What a blessing You brought us, thought Julie. Daya sat beside her.
“You’re so good with them. They just love you!” Daya’s smile turned to a sad expression.
“My wife and I…. The doctors say we can’t…no children.” Julie laid her hand on his.
“I had two miscarriages after Logan…we, I’m afraid to try again…you’d be a great dad, Daya.”
That night she studied the next Scripture, Daniel in the lion’s den,1 and fell asleep praying the Lord would help her to have more compassion.
When the children woke, they relieved themselves by the hedge as always. Julie had managed to convince Ravi, who didn’t understand why, but communicated to the other children that for some reason it was extremely important to give Julie her privacy first thing in the morning. This just doesn’t get any easier, thought Julie, squatting behind the hedge.
After games, Julie could hardly wait to share the story of Daniel and the lion’s den.
“Don’t forget, the Lord can protect us from our worst enemy.” When the story time ended, the whole group prayed for Bhanu and Kumar and for the Lord to make a place for them to live.
As the prayer ended, Daya arrived with food. He barely handed the sack off to Julie before the guys jumped him.
Amazing, they would rather wrestle than eat! I guess that’s boys for you, thought Julie.
She flashed back to the conversation she’d had with Michael before she’d left.
“Little boys are all about action and adventure and pirate’s treasure. As a former little boy, trust me on this.” My heart is breaking, Lord. I miss my family so much it hurts. Will I ever go home again? She sat down and hugged her knees and rocked. She was in her own world of pain. I miss Logan so much. Does he think I’m dead? How badly is he hurting? Lord, are You really taking care of them? She bit her lip and hugged her knees tighter.
She was snapped back to reality by Daya’s voice.
“Julie, before I go back to work, I want to tell you something. Do you remember when I said maybe you were the answer to our prayers?”
“Yes, it made no sense—still doesn’t. What do you mean our prayers?” As Daya spoke, Wilson made a flying leap and landed on his back.
“Excuse me just a minute.” After Wilson was dispatched, Daya said, “My church has been crying out to God on behalf of the orphans, to show us how to help. It’s like the Lord sovereignly picked us for this project.”
You have no idea! thought Julie. “Here, help me pass out the food, and then we can talk.”
When the orphans were eating, Daya continued, “The Lord showed our church that all together we’re to get a safe house and train children to love and serve Jesus and to do ‘greater works than these.’”2
Julie put her hand over her heart and inhaled deeply.
“It’s very close. I can take you now to see the house.”
“You already have it?”
Julie communicated to the children through Ravi that she was leaving, but would return shortly. She grabbed a sandwich, and she and Daya walked toward the shops. Julie didn’t know what she was expecting, but she tried not to get her hopes up. Maybe an indoor dump—bugs, unsanitary conditions. But whatever it is, it has to be better and smell better than where they live now.
When they arrived at the wrought iron gate, Daya pushed it open and held it for Julie. She froze; the revelation of His divine orchestration hit her. The Lord had led her to this very house that would be a refuge for the children to be a safe place, as a refuge for her during her difficult introduction to India.
“Is something wrong?” asked Daya, the wide grin fading from his face.
She tossed her head back and laughed.
“Oh, God has such a sense of humor. I slept here several nights.”
“How did you get inside?”
“No, I slept right here,” she led him to the side and pointed to the small space between the bushes and the house. “The first few nights I was in India.”
“You have had no place to stay?”
Julie nodded.
“Now I sleep with the orphans at the dump.”
Daya was overcome with emotion.
“You would come all the way from America to help our children, and you slept here and in the dump to do it? God bless you; your kindness is overwhelming.”
Well, not exactly, thought Julie, who decided she wouldn’t go into the details right now.
“Let’s go see the inside!” As she walked by the side of the house, she noticed something. She immediately dropped to her hands and knees and, to Daya’s surprise, crawled into the bushes.
“It’s my wallet. Everything’s here. How?”
She backed out of the bushes and held the brown leather wallet over her head triumphantly. She turned to Daya, “It was stolen from the beauty shop the day I met you. That’s why I met you. I came to report my wallet as stolen—oh my gosh. That’s how God orchestrated our meeting. I thought it was a bad thing, but He used it for something very good.” Julie clutched the wallet to her heart.
“My wallet returned, Nilaya’s breakthrough, and a house for the children. Jesus, You are so good to me!” She turned to Daya, “I can’t believe the house is ready now.”
“It’s ready, but not ready.” He looked chagrined. “This house became available for rent, and the two sisters volunteered to live here, but the Lord has not provided the rent. We got the house for one month, and while we were waiting for the rest of the money, we received the owner’s permission to fix it up. However, if the money never came in, then he had his house fixed for free and returned to him at the end of this month. But, we kept praying the Lord would provide, and we didn’t want to waste time. We wanted a place for the children when the perfect time came.”
“Now is the perfect time,” shouted Julie. “How much would you need a month for the rent, food, everything?”
“It’s expensive—20,000 rupees.” Julie did the math. That’s a little over $400 a month. I spend that on clothes, cappuccinos, and carryout. I love these children. They need a safe home and people who care. “I can pay the monthly expenses. I will pay them every month! Promise.”
The Lord spoke, What an attitude change. In the beginning, you didn’t care about My orphans at all.
Oh, Lord, I was only thinking of my own comfort and I didn’t know them. I don’t mind giving up some extravagances to help meet their basic needs. You’ve given me a grocery cart full of bread, and I need to start sharing. They’ve been through so much; they are all my heroes.
And you are My hero for helping them.
With a big smile she said to Daya, “Let’s go in.”
The porch was swept clean. If the inside looks the same as the outside, the children will be in great shape. Daya opened the heavy wooden door and Julie gasped. The house was clean, and all the rooms had been freshly painted ivory. Julie thought of how much time she had spent trying to find the perfect paint colors for each room in her Victorian home. It looks beautiful in ivory!
The two sisters Daya had spoken of, Chanda and Champa, greeted Julie like she was a lost relative.
“Oh, you have Shara.” Julie held out her arms, and Champa handed her the baby.
“Hello, sweetie. I’ve missed you.” She nuzzled noses again, totally distracted from the task at hand. After she loved on Shara for several minutes, an older gentleman cleared his throat.
“This is Pastor Kandal,” said Daya. “This is the Julie I’ve been telling you about, and she is going to provide the money we need each month for the rent.”
“Praise the Lord,” shouted Pastor Kandal in respectable English. Julie looked up from Shara.
“I’m glad to meet you. It’s so exciting what you and your church have done.”
“You are the answer to our prayers, Julie. We can provide the work and staff, but the money we did not have.”
“It’s an honor. And you are an answer to my prayers for the children’s safety.” She kissed Shara again. “How long have you been working here?”
“Several weeks, every weekend, some evenings, mornings. Whatever fits people’s schedules.” Julie’s eyes scanned the downstairs. A large dining area with a table and benches. A large living area, with a gently used couch and several plastic chairs.
He touched her arm. “Through that door is the kitchen,” he said, with not a little pride in his voice. Although the appliances were old, they were very clean.
“Here is the boys’ room,” said the pastor, pushing the door open to reveal a room with mats lined on the floor and nothing else. “The downstairs bathroom is around the corner. Chanda will watch the boys; here is her bedroom.”
“Let me take you upstairs and show you where the girls will stay.” They exited the front door and climbed the outside staircase. There were two large rooms with mats on the floor and a closet with no doors. “Champa will watch the girls; this is her bedroom.”
“There are enough mats for everyone with some left over!” said Julie.
“God is so amazing,” said Pastor Kandal. “We were working on the building, but not sure how the Lord would provide the money. You had the children, but no place to stay. It took an American and some Indians partnering to make God’s dream come true.”
Tears welled in Julie’s eyes. She reluctantly handed Shara to Daya.
“I know you think I’m some kind of hero, but when I first came here I hated it. I didn’t even want to come here. God just made me.”
Pastor Kandal looked startled.
“I mean I really, really hated it, and I had no idea what would happen with the orphans, and I really didn’t care. I couldn’t imagine that I would have a part in it. All I wanted was to get back to my family and my comfortable life. All the time I was whining and doubting, you and your church were working on a building you didn’t even know if you would get.”
She buried her face in her hands and fought back the tears.
“The Lord told me I could go home early, and He would find someone else. I almost said yes. What if I’d gone home?”
“But you didn’t go home; you stayed, Julie from America.” Julie had her arms wrapped around her torso, still wrestling her emotions for control.
“I came so close to missing out on a life-changing miracle.” A tear rolled down her cheek.
“I have read that ‘One act of obedience is better than one hundred sermons,’”3 said Pastor Kandal.
“You might not have liked it in the beginning, but you have certainly proven your obedience by staying.”
She took several deep breaths, wiped the tears from her eyes, and with her happiest voice asked, “When can we move the children in?”
“Now that we have the rent, we are ready.”
“Thank You, Jesus. I never thought this day would come,” said Julie.
“OK, the church ladies will cook a nice hot meal for the children, and we will all eat together!”
“For the children,” shouted Julie as they high-fived.
“Pastor, what else do you need for the house?” The pastor looked a little embarrassed. “We need reading materials, and I’d like them each to have their own Bibles.”
“Let’s go now! The Lord returned my wallet at just the right time! Let’s get the supplies, then we’ll come home, put them in place, and then get the children!”
“Thank You, Jesus,” he shouted, looking at the ceiling.
Julie and the pastor quickly walked to the market. There they picked out books, pencils, paper, crayons, and reading kits.
“Oh, look at the calendars,” said Julie. “We can get one for each room, maybe two.” She leafed through one showing snow-capped mountains.
“The pictures are so beautiful. They need to know there’s more to this world than the blocks surrounding the dump.” Together they picked a calendar of the sites of India, kittens, snow-covered mountains, and tropical beaches, and for the sisters, flowers and butterflies. Pastor Kandal tipped his head back and laughed, “You are like, how do you say? A child in a sweet shop.”
“I just can’t wait to move the children into a nice, safe, clean house. I’ll need to buy them some clothes and a new outfit for me to replace what started out as a dress. We’ll also need soap and shampoo, to kill lice, combs, and a pair of scissors. We’ll need some clothes for our wonderful, sweet baby and diapers. The children will need storage, maybe plastic bins—”
Pastor Kandal laughed, “We will have our hands full, Julie from America.”
“—and,” continued Julie, barely listening, “I want to get stuffed, soft toys so they have something to cuddle with at night.”
“Julie your generosity is so great. I’m not sure I can accept it.”
“It’s not for you; it’s for the children. Jesus sent me here on a mission, and you would do me a disservice if you stand in the way. You’ve already done your part, getting the house ready when it seemed there was no place the money could come from.”
Daya was waiting when they returned to the house with their purchases.
“I’ll go tell the children we have a big surprise,” said Julie. “We can bring them here, they can clean up, and we can all eat together! And I can shower too, and it will be paradise to wash my hair, my dirty, oily, greasy, disgusting, filthy hair! Let’s go now.”
Pastor stood up and motioned toward the dump. Julie clapped and jumped up and down, “YES, let’s get them now.”