Timidly, a young man knocked on the door at the Lutheran Health Center in Vorehe, Madagascar. He wanted to talk to a doctor, and was taken to Dr. Baozandry Justine (Bow-ZANDRY Jus-TEEN), the director of the health center.

He asked Dr. Justine, "Would you be interested in a baby?" Surprised, Dr. Justine asked what he meant. He said, "A baby girl was born at my sister's home. This was the second baby of my sister and her husband. The first child died soon after birth. They are afraid that this baby might die too, so my family consulted a witch doctor. The witch doctor told us that the baby was born on an evil day and would bring bad things to our family, so therefore the baby must be left to die." He continued, "My family did not want to let the baby die, nor did they want to keep the baby, so they sent me here to ask -- would you take the baby?"

Dr. Justine agreed to go with the young man, trekking more than nine miles over dusty dirt roads to the baby's home. Dr. Justine walked into the house.

Like most homes in the area, it had one room with a dirt floor. The people here are very poor, and the children have few clothes to wear.

As Dr. Justine's eyes adjusted to the dim light, she heard a baby crying. There she was, lying on the floor without clothes or a blanket. She was thirsty and hungry.

Dr. Justine picked up the baby and held her in her arms. She knew she could find a place for this little child of God.

Dr. Justine took the little baby back to the Health Center. There, Dr. Justine and the health workers fed and loved the little baby until she became healthy. The baby now lives with Dr. Justine who has adopted her as her own. She named her Fanomezantsoa (Fan-u-MAY-zan-SUE-a), which means "wonderful gift."

"I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink."
Matthew 25:35a

Illustrations by Fred Willingham