Sunday, November 8, 2015

The Hospital

Ashiyana (alias) threaded her way through the dark streets. She was
anxious to get home after apprenticing as a chef at a tourist
restaurant in Fiji. She smiled at the thought of providing for her
one-legged father and their impoverished family when she was only
nineteen years old.

Heavy footsteps ran from behind. A man slammed into Ashiyana’s petite
four-foot-ten-inch body and pulled her into a deserted building. The
horror she suffered in the next moments will haunt her all her life.

Weeks later, Ashiyana discovered she was pregnant. She told only her
father and mother. They held her head and wept.

With her dreams destroyed, Ashiyana slipped out of town in shame. Her
father brought her to Homes of Hope for the term of her pregnancy. She
would give birth, offer the baby to adoptive parents, then figure out
how to face life again.

Quiet and talented, Ashiyana made good friends at Homes of Hope,
especially with three Indo-Fijian girls. She bonded with her
counselor, Aunty Dani. She made special curries, while Aunty Dani gave
love and satisfied Ashiyana’s cravings for cheese-buns.

Ashiyana soon grasped her need to receive cleansing and forgiveness.
She prayed to renounce Hinduism and receive Jesus Christ as her
Savior. In the privacy of a clear mountain river, Ashiyana and four
others were baptized. In the water, her growing belly made her look as
wide as she was tall.

The labor pains began at five in the morning. Homes of Hope staff
rushed Ashiyana to the public hospital, but there was no room. She and
three others lay in beds outside the birthing rooms, hearing the
screams of those ahead of them.

After delivery, Ashiyana curled in the hallway and cried as those
hurrying past bumped her bed. She cried at the heartache of lying next
to a baby she would never know. She cried because she wanted to hug
the infant but didn’t want to create a bond she’d never be able to
break. If she held the swaddled bundle, it would lead to destitution
for both of them when they were rejected by family and community.

My chart says the baby should go to adoptive parents right afterbirth, why is he still here twenty one hours later? Ashiyana wondered
on her hallway bed. But she knew the answer. The staff was not in
favor of bottle-feeding or of adoption. They would force her to
breastfeed, force her to bond, force her to change her mind. It was an
unspoken battle of wills.

In her anguished state of mind no milk would come out, no matter how
many times the nurses tried to make Ashiyana breastfeed the baby. But
then a friendly face appeared—Aunty Dani. Using a wheelchair in the
busy hallway, Dani joined Ashiyana in her anguish. Dani held the
hungry, crying baby, and tried to get the attention of staff. Social
Welfare Department wasn’t responding, the charge nurse was delivering
baby after baby, the nursery couldn’t do anything without
authorization.

Dani refused to leave after visiting hours. She knew in her spirit
that Jesus was saying, “Don’t abandon this girl.” Three hours later,
the day staff finished and Dani started her explanations with a new
shift of nurses.

“This girl was raped and they baby was supposed to go to the nursery
yesterday,” Dani whispered. She had to break confidentiality as a last
ditch effort to get help. The matron seemed to finally grasp the
problem.

More talk, more meetings, more waiting. It was finally disclosed that
the nursery had no diapers or formula, so they couldn’t help. Don was
dispatched to the market, and twenty minutes later, the baby was in
the nursery ready to meet his adoptive parents the following day.
Ashiyana’s prayer was answered—the adoptive parents were Christian.

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of
the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”
(Matthew 25:40)

Thank you for being with us in prayer and finance as we serve
forgotten souls in the name of Jesus.

XO
Don & Dani

Link for photos:


Donations go to our forwarding agent:

Goulding C/O Jeanne Hartman
PO Box 2433
Grass Valley, CA 95945

For tax exempt donations:

Pioneers
10123 William Carey Dr.
Orlando, FL 32832

Account name: Operation Foundation
Account no: 132113
Comments/Reference: Local Staffing-DDG

On-line Donations go to:
Account name: Operation Foundation
Account no: 132113

Comments/Reference: Local Staffing-DDG

Old Posts

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