Several years ago, I began looking at volunteering my time at some of the children's hospitals in the St. Louis area. As Christ has changed me & continually been at work in my life, I find Him softening my heart to many different areas-one of which is the area of children. As I called around to get information, I learned that I could not just come on occasion to read stories to the kids but I had to make a commitment of 6 months or so. Unfortunately, I did not have the time then to do so. When my Cousin, Lisa, gave birth to her son, Noah, last year, Noah had to be moved to Cardinal Glennon Hospital in Downtown St. Louis due to being born prematurely. I remember the day I went to see Noah. As we were leaving the hospital, a young girl was sitting outside in a wheelchair hooked up to an IV bag that was being rolled with her. She looked to be about 11 or 12 years old. She had no hair. I would assume she probably was a Cancer patient. I choked up & could hardly stand it. I then knew that perhaps I might not be cut out for visiting children's hospitals. I became fearful that if I were to do so, I might become attached to the children & then, if they did not make it, I'd take it real hard.
Recently, I learned that one of our members at work has a 4 year old son who has a brain tumor. Each week, he must go to Children's Hospital downtown for treatments. Today, the little boy was in with his dad. He kept acting bashful-hiding & then peeking around his father to look at me. When our eyes would meet, he'd flash a cute little grin & quickly hide behind his dad again. As his dad approached me to be waited on, I began to talk to Elijah (the little boy). I gifted him with some toys that we had. As I proceeded going about my business & finishing the transaction, I really had to pull myself together as tears were welling up within me. Elijah's tumor is visible & sadly, his scars from many previous surgeries are as well. I began to think about his parents & how my heart aches for them. I was able to compose myself enough to give his dad the receipt & say goodbye to the two of them but as soon as they walked out the door, I nearly lost it. There Elijah stood..smiling, laughing, care-free. Yet, days from now, he'll be back in the hospital hooked up to IV's, machines, etc. undergoing treatment again. Once they left, I was thinking it was going to be a rough rest of the day as my mind would continue to drift back to little Elijah. But...as only God has a way of doing, He provided me with the perfect ray of sunshine during a cloudy moment in my soul.
As usual, I returned home for my lunch break & as I do every day, I signed onto facebook. When I did, I had an instant message that was popping up on my screen. I looked to see who it was from & low & behold, it was from Dabby. In 2005, I met many incredible kids & had wonderful students in Taiwan. Dabby though, was by far, my favorite.
Dabby's English-speaking skills were far greater than most of the other students. Dabby was very diligent in her studies and with each thing Crystal & I said, she was entering the words into a translation computer to learn more. I remember Dabby having novels in her back pack. Novels that were written in English. As we inquired about them, she was reading a series. She was very interested in learning everything she could from us--specifically in regards to English. Dabby also was a very gifted artist. On our final day together, she presented both Crystal & I with pictures that she had drawn for us. Her fine detailing was amazing. Clearly, she was a young lady full of talent. Upon my return home in '05, Dabby & I kept in touch from time to time through e-mails. She was very excited for my return visit in '06. Disappointed, we never did connect while I was there in '06. My friend Megan & I walked up & down the streets of her neighborhood yelling her name & asking people about her. No one had any information (this was most likely because of the fact that we were using her English name which she would not be known by to anyone in the area. We did not know the kids' given names). I left Taiwan without having seen Dabby again. Last time I had heard from Dabby was about a year ago. Today when I received her instant message, I was ecstatic. My heart was leaping with joy. As she wrote, it was 1:30 a.m. in Taiwan. We were not able to talk for too long since I had to be back at work. However, we had a nice little visit. She apologized for it taking her so long to type in English. I encouraged her by telling her she was doing a great job (which, she really was. I know people here in America that can't type as well or as quickly as she was). I shared that I would love to be back in Taiwan but I also wish she could visit here one day. Dabby said that she would like to do so but it is much too expensive for her to come to America. I told her she would need to begin saving so that she could one day come and she & I could go visit Miss Crystal (to the students, we were Miss Crystal & Miss Heather. Though, for a long time Dabby has referred to me as "teacher."). As I prepared to say good-bye, Dabby wanted to know if I was on MSN. Her words were, "we can talk visible." I finally figured out what she meant. She wanted to know if I had MSN Messenger so that we could talk via webcam. At one point, I was set up for that but I'm not sure that I am still. I assured her that I would check on it & let her know. I went back to work on cloud 9 after that treat. I have since returned home to see that Dabby's status on facebook states "The world is so beautiful and full of love. I'm happy that I choice sleep late or I won't visit my teacher." For those of you that have not worked with or been around Asian people, you may be trying to decipher that--essentially what she is saying is that she's glad she chose to go to bed later because if she had not of, she would not have been visiting with me. Apparently, she was just as delighted as I was for our meeting today. I've always said & will do so once again...there are no accidents or coincidences with God. He purposed such at just the right time for a specific purpose. I may not know just yet what that purpose was but I'll forever be grateful for that nice surprise. I know not the spiritual condition of Dabby's heart. To my knowledge, she did not receive Christ while Crystal & I were in the class with her. I can only pray that those things which we taught her, the Bible she was given, the love we showed her & the continued opportunities to speak with her will be blessed by God. If Dabby has yet to do so, may this very special young lady come to know the One True God rather than the many gods that so many of the Hakka people bow down to & live in fear of. Please, pray for Dabby.
