She woke up this morning to the sound of the women in the village, busy readying themselves for the day. She longed for just a few more minutes of sleep. Why does the night seem to pass so quickly?

She slowly got up from her mat on the dirt floor, rolled it up, and placed it in the corner of her family’s hut. As she did so, her younger brother and sister stirred on their mats. She gently nudged each of them and whispered to them that it was time to wake up.

She took just enough water from the basin, put it into the pot and laid it on the already warm fire to warm it up for their morning tea.
She then began her morning prayers.
Prayers of gratitude flowed easily straight from her mouth to God.
Prayers from the heart of a girl who no longer had the bloated belly from hunger.
Prayers from the heart of a girl who no longer watched her mom weep in desperation, until her whole body would shake, after the loss of their father and breadwinner.
Prayers from the heart of a girl who now had the unbelievable luxury to attend school.
Prayers from the heart of a girl whose mother now had a stand at the marketplace, selling local goods her family grew and made themselves.

As she finished her prayers and prepared for her daily morning chores, she heard voices fervently whispering. They came from the gathering place, to the right of her row of huts.

She looked out and saw many of the adults of her village talking with a man. She thought to herself::

This man is one of our own. And he works now with some foreigners. I do not really understand it all, but I know that he is a good man of God who has provided many families like ours with skills and learning and training that have allowed my mom an income and allowed me to go to school.

The looks on everyone’s faces looked worrisome enough to this intuitive girl that she decided to go back behind the huts to listen better to what they were saying.

She could only hear bits and pieces::

…funding may be halted indefinitely
…foreign organization made new decision and it made people decide to no longer give money
…yes, they are Christians, but for some reason they do not agree with the organization
…yes, they are choosing not to send money to the organization anymore

…yes, this means we will have to learn to live with even less.

…no, I do not know for how long.

“What does this mean?”, she thought.

I am scared. I do not want to have that bloated belly again!
And I do not understand.
They love God too, do they not?
Why would they do this to us?

Did we do something wrong?

We must have done something wrong!
Was it me?
Am I saying my prayers wrong?
Did I not do well enough on the math test yesterday?

Is it because my brother took a pencil without asking first?

Do we not matter anymore?

“For He will deliver the needy who cry out,
the afflicted who have no one to help.

He will take pity on the weak and the needy
and save the needy from death.

He will rescue them from oppression and violence,
for precious is their blood in His sight.”

Psalm 72: 12-14

**this is simply the working out of my own heart in response to the recent news from World Vision. **