There are few days that go by that in a distance near my home I am spotted or the one spotting an eleven year old girl. One, two or three blocks away our eyes meet. It is great joy in my heart and makes me happy to see her. She runs, calling my name from a distance, as people stop to see where this girl they are so familiar with is running and whom she is calling. My heart leaps for joy as she runs into my arms and greets me with a warm smile. Some how without saying the words she knows that I will love her unconditionally and do my best to meet her immediate need, which is usually food or drink.
Her hair disheveled, her face spotted with dirt, her hands, look as though she has been working in the garden all day, so dirty. However, the package on the outside does not reflect the beautiful, clean, pure heart on the inside. Her black eyes sparkle with hope and promise. Life has been challenging for her but it is if she does not know. The innocence of her age is good but as she grows, the future, it comes with a harsh reality.
The other day when I see her she has thick black eyeliner on and near her eyes. When I mention this to her she looks down in embarrassment but with a smirk, as she knows I know she is growing up. The urgency in my heart and prayers for her rises up and time is running short before she meets the reality of the everyday of her life.
What will become of Marianna? There are thousands of Marianna's here! Big ones, little ones, ones left in the hospital. They walk the streets, day after day, no heat in their home, minimal water and food. Clothes that are worn until they are so dirty they can't be worn anymore. In some extreme cases, their clothes used as firewood to keep them warm at night.
In Guatemala I met a Marianna. He was a grown man working for God. When I told him about the Marianna's in Romania, he wept as he told the story of his father passing away when he was young and his mother leaving him and his siblings. He spoke of being alone and rummaging through the garbage to feed his self and then one day he met some Missionaries who lived near him. They fed him physically and spiritually and because of their act of kindness and love, he testifies through his tears, of the goodness of God and how he has not been hungry or left alone since that time.
How can I change lives? How can you change lives? We don't, God changes the hearts, and with that changes the course of the life, we are just His hands and feet. With His help we can make a difference in the Marianna's of the world! TOGETHER!
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