Prayer Needed … But a Smile at the End

Trust me when I say that life has been even more hectic around here than usual. Between critiques, edits, foster-related appointments, and readying for our first conference speaking … let’s just say I’ve struggled to find blogging time.

No doubt that in the future we’ll be able to blog from a chip in our brain. I’ll be much more productive then! Trust me that I’m working on a deep post linking THE BEST BOOK I read last year with Inauguration Day, but it’s not nearly finished yet. I also have been chosen for a blog award–thank you, Susan! Plus, we need to talk about my new look here on blogger. But not today …

Instead, I want to post a prayer request I sent out to our church. (I’m taking names out, just in case identification would pose a threat to anyone involved.)

I recently reconnected with a high school friend, J****, on facebook. She just called with an urgent prayer request. She and her family have been involved with Ransom Wear, even going over to India to meet some of the women who’d been rescued from the sex trade and taught to make the clothes sold on the website.

Their contact, a man named R******, has children of his own, but also “fosters” other girls to keep them safe. They had a girl named S**** who lived with them for the last seven years, since she was three. He and his family continually get death threats, along with promises to kidnap his daughters and put them in brothels.

Well, it seems to have happened. He came to the US for a two week trip, and just found out that ten-year-old S**** went to school 4 or 5 days ago and never came home. They’ve yet to receive a ransom request. Usually, if the girl is killed, the body is discovered around the 9th or 10th day. If they have put her in a brothel, there’s almost no chance of finding her. They hide the young girls in the back, and if anyone comes searching for them, they tie them and tape their mouths and throw them into dirt crawl spaces.

Only God can orchestrate S****’s safe return. Pray for her and for R***** who is trying to fly home–a three day process. Fog in Utah thwarted his first attempt to leave, meaning he had to go back to Redmond to get another plane. He has not slept in quite some time. Pray that he can find rest in the Only One who can give it. Also pray for protection for the rest of his family. Thank you, and praise God that He connected me with a friend I haven’t spoken to in thirteen years and then our first conversation was a prayer!

I’ll update you as I learn more. It breaks my heart, how awful this world can be. If you’re feeling that way too–and I’d be surprised if you aren’t after reading that–here’s a cutie-pie story to cheer you up.

My own children have to say, “Yes, Mom” before they question any thing I ask them to do. We’ve done this for years. So when little “Angel” (2 1/2) started asking lots of Why questions, I imposed the same rule. It seems only fair.

This afternoon, she woke up from her nap and I took her potty. Afterward, I held her jeans with panties still inside open so she could step into them. Though usually this is fine with her, today she wanted to put both articles of clothing on separately.

“Why, silly girl?” I asked.

To which she replied, “No, why Mommy. Say, ‘Yes, Angel.'”