It was a picnic!But, not an ordinary picnic!

It was a special picnic!

It was a family picnic in Kathmandu Valley on the side of a mountain full of blooming rhododendrons, chirping birds, and the sweet fragrance of star magnolias. The 45-minute bus ride wove through little villages along the road higher and higher up the mountainside. Pounds and pounds of rice, cauliflower, potatoes, onions, and other food were brought to the picnic site. A sudden rainstorm moved across the sky opening its clouds on to those below. Some families and children went a short distance down the hill to a little wooden hut to wait out the rain.Others just stayed under the plastic tarp that was suspended on poles and trees.

There were children! But, not ordinary children!

They are special children!

These children are from Asha Bal Bikas Sewa, Children of Hope Development Service, a ministry of HDCS. ABBS is a day care center for mentally and physically challenged children. Their parents bring their children to the center at 9 o'clock in the morning and pick them at 4PM, five days a week. Children, parents, and ABBS staff were gathered together for a family picnic.

At the picnic I met Bhisma with her son, Abhisek.

Bhisma was living in a rural village when her son was born. There was no prenatal care available where she lived. When he was born, although the cord was not wrapped around his neck, Abhisek was born blue. He didn't cry immediately. The village health worker didn't know what to do. Finally, he cried!

As months progressed, Bhisma and her husband, Krishna, noticed that Abhisek was developing slower than others his age.At first, they just thought that some babies just develop slower. Finally when he was a year old, they realized that he wasn't normal; he wasn't just developing slowly; something was wrong. In the meantime, they had moved to Kathmandu and opened a little shop. By the time Abhisek he was two, he just laid in bed day and night, unable to move around.Because he could not move himself, his body, arms and legs had become stiff. His parents didn't know how to take care of him.

A woman coming to their shop noticed their child. She was a staff person from ABBS. She told the family that the child probably has cerebral palsy, and she worked at a center where they offered care for children like hers.

For three years now, Abhisek has been attending ABBS.Through the great patience of the staff at ABBS providing physiotherapy, routine activities of daily care and simple learning, Abhisek is now mobile! He can crawl, follow simple commands, and make sounds of meaningful communication. He smiles all the time in recognition of staff and other people.

Cerebral palsy is not caused by a disease, but by inadequate prenatal care or something going wrong at the time of delivery. Bhisma and Krishna now live in Kathmandu where she would have easy access to prenatal care and a hospital delivery by a doctor. The chances of this happening again are very slim. Yet, she's afraid. Her response is that she will now have to take care of Abhisek everyday of his life. One is hard enough. Why take the risk of that happening again?

I was at a loss for an answer.

Please pray with me for Abhisek, Bhisma and Krishna, as they see the love of God expressed daily by the staff of ABBS, through their tender loving care and prayers.

Please pray with me for the families of so many mentally and physically challenged children, those attending ABBS and many centers throughout Kathmandu Valley, and those families living in villages who don't have access to care.

Seeing and understanding God's love in accepting a child with cerebral palsy or any kind of situation leaving a child mentally and physically challenged is hard enough while living the Christian life of faith. Without God, it is harder to understand.

One of my favorite quotes in offering a helpful way of understanding God's love is from the book The Clowns of God, by Morris West:

"I know what you are thinking. You need a sign. What better one could I give you than to make this little one whole and new? I could do it; but I will not.I am the Lord and not a conjuror. I gave this mite a gift I denied all of you – eternal innocence. To you, the child looks imperfect – but to Me the child is flawless; like the bud that dies unopened or the fledging that falls from the nest to be devoured by the ants. This child will never offend Me, as all of you have done. This child will never pervert or destroy the work of My Father's hands. This child is necessary to you. This child will evoke the kindness that will keep him human. His infirmity will prompt you to gratitude for your own good fortune. More! He will remind you everyday that I am who I am, that My ways are not yours, and that the smallest dust mote whirled in the darkest space does not fall out of My hand.I have chosen you. You have not chosen Me. This little one is My sign to you. Treasure him!"

The Apostle puts it this way in II Corinthians 4:7:

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."

Thank you for supporting us and those around us in prayer.

Carole Sydnor