A baby left in the trash

A new born baby was found dead in a heap of trash in the community where our ministry base is in Tondo. The tiny body discarded and thrown in the middle of a pile of garbage only a few buildings away from ours. Some of the women in the community  told us today no one knows the circumstances surrounding this tragedy, or at least no one is telling....

Could he have been stillborn and the family unable to afford a place of burial?

-That's common. Some of the children have shared with tear stained faces how their parents had no money to pay for a place for their younger siblings to be laid and so they made a humble coffin from food cartons.

Maybe it was a teenager who was terrified of her family knowing she was pregnant?

-For every young girl that gives birth there are more who abort their babies. The women speak quite openly of "home remedies" they concoct that are intended to kill the baby growing inside of them.

Could not afford to feed another child?

-There have been many abandoned babies and even older children left around the dump site area. Some women have been caught trying to sell their babies or give them away. Some of them feel a love for their baby and would choose to keep them. But  like several mothers we know who already have between 9-16 children and in spite of their efforts struggle to provide, the thought of another mouth to feed drives them to the brink.

Whatever the reason was it's just devastating. Is life so cheap that a precious gift of God could simply be valued as the same worth as rotten decaying trash? My heart cries out for justice and mercy. Lord.. heal this land. You are the only hope.

This situation and others like it show how much has still to be done in the community. The people need Jesus... the restoring, healing, unfailing love and mercy of Jesus. In our minds it's tempting to become overwhelmed and  easily conclude the problems are too big, the need is too much, its pointless and hopeless...

BUT GOD.

It's says in the word  that there is a bowl full of the prayers of the saints (Revelation 5:8) .  A bowl full and becoming fuller with the prayers of the people of God. Oh that God would pour out that bowl and release the answered prayers for this community and others like it. I am challenged. I should be before God day and night crying out in prayer for the people. Oh to have a heart that would not relent in seeking God for change.

Lord... heal this land.