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Triggered by her Bible school teacher
A student comes face to face with her worse enemy
“Your husband is the person I most hate in my life!” Abigail said to Nini, the wife of the principal and local pastor at the Bible school in which Abigail had been intending to enroll.
A short time earlier, the school principal, Khamh, had been sitting behind his desk when Abigail entered his office for her orientation interview. He warmly welcomed her and invited her to sit down. Her wide eyes stared directly at his face for several minutes without blinking. She said nothing. Khamh asked for her name, and after a long pause, she wrote it on a piece of paper and handed it to him. He asked more questions, but she refused to reply. Perplexed by her strange behavior, Khamh thought to himself, “Maybe she is tired from traveling.”
Immediately after the interview, Abigail began packing her bags to leave. The other students noticed this unexpected action and encouraged her to talk with Nini. Abigail went to Nini and told her, “Your husband put me in an orphanage. He destroyed my life!”
When Nini relayed Abigail’s outburst to Khamh, everything clicked. He remembered her from 13 years earlier.
Abigail’s father had developed a mental illness, which required Abigail’s mother to spend all her available time caring for him. She wanted a better life for her daughter, and she heard that orphanages were one way to provide that. “Can you take my daughter to an orphanage that you’re convinced is safe?” Abigail’s mother asked her pastor Khamh. Knowing their difficult situation, Khamh agreed to do so. He traveled with Abigail for three days, taking her from their remote mountain town to an orphanage with a good reputation in a large city. “I thought I was helping her,” said Khamh.
Abigail never explained what had happened to her at that orphanage, but Khamh knew it must have been something terrible. He humbly apologized to Abigail for his role in her suffering, and she decided to stay at the Bible school. But Khamh noted that she always had trouble relating to the other female students. Shaken by what he observed, Khamh resolved that from then on, he would work to prevent children from being removed from their family and sent to a far-off orphanage.
Khamh had no idea how he could make a difference … but you provided the answer to his search! Through your support, you helped to host a seminar about alternatives to orphanages. Khamh was asked to be the translator for the child-care expert from the UK. While translating the message, Khamh learned that families are what children need most. The seminar opened his eyes to understand what had happened to Abigail. He learned that orphanages can’t meet children’s emotional needs and, even worse, are often places of abuse and neglect. Khamh also learned the best ways to help children who cannot live with their own family.
Since then, Khamh has become an avid advocate for family-based care for children. “I preach about family-based care whenever I’m invited to speak in churches and at conferences,” he said. As a prominent leader in the Christian community in his country, he is effective in spreading this message. When awareness seminars are planned, Khamh enthusiastically invites people to attend.
Khamh (at right) interpreting at an awareness seminar
Khamh’s assistance in promoting the value of family-based care was instrumental in generating interest in establishing a foster care program. All the people involved, from the committee overseeing the project to the foster families taking in children, were influenced by Khamh and continue to be encouraged by him. Although the foster program is just starting, already two children who likely would have been sent to orphanages are now living with loving families who care for them. Moreover, community leaders are overseeing the program and helping to ensure the children’s safety.
Although Khamh says, “I don’t get any pay for what I do,” We know that he is really laying up treasure in heaven, just like you! Thank you for helping to influence people like Khamh who want to know how to best help children. With your support, we are helping a greater number of needy children to experience a loving family!
