Niki* (name changed for protection) is a quite and beautiful 13-year-old girl who once had to dig for roots and beg on the side of the road to survive.  She was at high-risk for being exploited or trafficked. S&A reported that terrorism caused her family to flee far away from their village of origin. There was gunfire all around.  When S&A learned about Niki’s plight, with her parents permission, they invited her and her younger sister to live with them in their home. Niki* is not an orphan in the true sense of the word; however, her parents struggle with heavy drug-addiction and poverty in this volatile area of Shan State and were unable to adequately provide for their children.   Niki*, who had never gone to school prior to living with S&A, proved herself to be such a good learner that she won awards in school.  Most important of all, over the past 5 years living with S&A, she has come to know Jesus personally and about God’s tremendous love for her.

Recently, Niki’s* mom gave birth to twin girls.  These babies, too, could be at high risk.  What does Niki* do to help? She saves a major part of her hard-earned allowance to send bags of rice back home to her family to help them survive. This beautiful and selfless act of care shows the type of compassion we read about in Matthew 25:35.  We are called to live out our faith and Niki,* under S&A’s care, has learned how to do this very well.  Praise God for this beautiful example!