Lois of New Heritage Orphanage
“How were you healed so quickly?” a friend asked 11-year-old Lois when she returned to school after being sick. Lois boldly replied, “My God not only saved my soul, but if we believe in Him, we can be healed from our sicknesses too!” Lois’ courageous witness has piqued the curiosity of many of her classmates, and they are now showing interest in learning more about Jesus.
Lois is an orphan in Myanmar, and as such, she is treated as a lower-class citizen. Her parents both died from alcohol abuse, and then her grandmother, with whom she went to live after the death of her parents, also passed away. Today Lois lives at New Heritage Orphanage under the care of Christian directors who have become her new father and mother. From them she learned about her Heavenly Father and how He would always be there for her—even when she is ill.
Among the Christians in Myanmar, on Christmas Day the distinction between orphans and children with parents becomes more distinct. When everyone goes to church to celebrate Jesus’ birth, all of the children with parents are wearing new clothes, while the orphans wear, at best, worn and tattered clothing. It is a reminder to them that they are orphans, and they often succumb to shame.
Thanks to the Christmas Clothes for Orphans Fund, however, that distinction is diminishing. Each year, we do our best to provide each of our children in 57 orphanages with $5 with which the orphanage directors can buy them a new article of clothing. That way classmates and others in the community can see that the orphans also have a Father who truly cares for them and who provides new clothes for Christmas—just like the parents of children who are not orphans.
I want to share with you a testimony we received last Christmas from one of our orphanage directors. Sonny Cung Luai, the director of Beulah Orphanage in Kalaymyo, Myanmar, wrote in broken English:
This year Christmas, we are very happy. Our children are so happy that they all received Christmas gifts…. When I looked at them how much they are happy when they got new clothes each whether it is good or not, It reminded me our lives two three year ago. At that time our tears flowed down because of pity on them when we can not buy them anything for Christmas. But now our tears flow down because of happiness when we looked at them how they love it and proud of their gifts. Praise the Lord. We all are really happy.
