A Look Back and Celebration of 10 years

It was on Friday, August 8, 2008 that Santhosh, Philip and I made our way to the Children’s Hospital for Philip’s simple flap repair. This would be a 45-minute same day surgery, and we would be discharged home later in the afternoon.But in that span of…

Craniofacial Acceptance Month

September is Craniofacial Acceptance Month, and I asked Philip what that meant to him. His response was that everyone deserves respect and dignity, no matter what they look like. It isn’t easy to walk around with a facial birth defect, with scars on…

Inaugural Mission to KENYA!

As I was searching for the final numbers and data collected from the recent mission to Kenya, I could not find any updates on the website. It has been such a busy few weeks since we returned from Kenya, that I did not even blog about it!Thirty-one members made…

Milestones and Memories

LWR had a “celebration” tour of sorts in celebrating the milestone 10 years in Chattanooga, TN and also in Elmont, New York! We could be coming to a city near you, keep your eyes peeled!One of the featured young men during these events was young Harsha…

Promises Made, Promises Kept

The tears have been endless for the past month. I can’t believe it has been one month, since my baby boy passed from this world. I miss him so much. No parent should bury their child. It should always be the children who pick the coffin and make the funeral…

Love Reading about Christmas Miracles!!

Love Reading about Christmas Miracles!! Don’t you LOVE Christmas miracles? I’ll tell you one about a poor husband and wife who lived outside of Bangalore, India in a rural village. They had a happy dream of a new baby to be added to their family….

Love Reading about Christmas Miracles!!

Love Reading about Christmas Miracles!!

Don’t you LOVE Christmas miracles?

I’ll tell you one about a poor husband and wife who lived outside of Bangalore, India in a rural village. They had a happy dream of a new baby to be added to their family. All their goals, all their wishes were placed in the future of this new life.

Fast forward nine months, and baby boy Rehan was born! But the mother wept when she saw Rehan for the first time. His lip was separated in two sections of his mouth. He was born with a bilateral cleft lip.

The father wept when he saw Rehan. And he returned to his hard labor job to earn his $2 a day. The grandmother also tried to pitch in by earning from some street vending job. It would be many years before this family would be able to afford a cleft repair for baby Rehan. He would have to live in humiliation, grow up ostracized from his peers.

When Rehan turned 8 months old this December, his parents learned about a free medical camp for those born with facial birth defects. They met the Love Without Reason team of professionals, and soon Rehan was scheduled for surgery. The 500th surgery for Love Without Reason!

The journey to this Christmas miracle has been revolving in my mind for days.  In December 2007, Santhosh and I had no idea of the work involved in forming and running a nonprofit.  We spent the next 5 years researching, studying, learning from mistakes, and working hard.  In 2012,  the first surgeries began in Bangalore.  In  April 2014, I resigned my job as a nurse practitioner to work full-time for LWR, (meaning un-paid at this time)!  I wondered many times if I had truly heard from God, or if I had imagined everything.  My answer came in the summer of 2014, when LWR had not yet celebrated the 100th patient.  I cuddled a one-month old baby boy born with a cleft lip.  The young mother, with tears in her eyes, asked me, “Why did this happen to me?   What did I do wrong?”   And in my spirit, I heard God say, “You asked me the same questions when Philip was born.  Now, you know what to say to wipe her tears away.”

And now, thanks to our donors, supporters and prayer warriors alike, the LWR team will continue to wipe the tears of parents of children like Rehan. Giving. Loving. When they could never possibly pay you back. It’s one of many 2018 Christmas Miracles!!

Click below to hear Rehan’s story! #500thStory