Chapter 9 Chapter Nine Even an Abandoned Baby Can Feel Love

Take time to think, take time to pray, take time to laugh. That is the source of power, that is the most powerful force in the world, That's the music of the soul. Take time to play, time to love and be loved, time to give. That is the secret of eternal youth, and that is the privilege endowed by God. A day is too short to be selfish. Take time to read, take time to be kind to people, take time to work. That is the source of wisdom, that is the path to happiness, that is the price of success. take the time to do good, That is the key to the kingdom of heaven. --Slogan on the wall of Kolkata Children's Home

Even foundlings can feel love As early as when Motiji’s hospice was first established, children were often left at the door of that dilapidated house. Sometimes, three children were even left there in one day.In other words, since then, Sister Duran has started to adopt abandoned babies. India is a populous country, and Kolkata is the most densely populated city in India, especially the city with the most densely populated poor population in India.Because of poverty, many parents have to abandon their newborn children, or even kill them cruelly.Calcutta has perhaps the largest number of foundlings of any major city in the world.

During those days, due to the lack of manpower, Mumu often stayed up all night to take care of those little lives. Hard work and tiredness were nothing to Mumu. What made her most sad and sad was the food necessary for raising children. Food, nutrition and medicine are often in short supply, and she has to run around, begging non-stop among friends, acquaintances and strangers. In Mumu's view, even abandoned children are given by God, and they have the right to live. Later, when the nuns and the nuns pushed the BMX and looked for the dying patients on the street, they would also find them in the garbage dumps, in the gutters, or at the door of the church, and on the steps of public buildings. Abandoned baby.Sometimes, they find not one but two -- dying mothers clinging to crying babies.The mother's vitality has been lost, but the child is still a living child.

Later, the number of abandoned children increased, and the hospice obviously could not accommodate so many children.So Mumu made a decisive decision and announced the establishment of a formal children's home. The children's home was set up next to the hospice. In addition to adopting abandoned babies, the children's home also doubled as a maternity hospital and a school.That is, it also shelters and educates street children, while helping single poor pregnant women until their children are safely born. Mumu said that among all the poor people, there is probably no one who is poorer and more helpless than a helpless child. They are truly weak and they need love and sympathy most.

Almost all the newly picked babies have disabilities, diseases, and malnutrition in varying severity. The nuns must carefully bathe, breastfeed, and give them medicine.In addition, the nuns must also hug and kiss the children, make them play, make them laugh, and let them feel the caress and warmth of a mother from body to soul.Even if they are physically disabled, or covered with abscesses, mange. For whatever reason, a nun cannot refuse to hug and kiss a child.This is the rule. Therefore, in the children's home, you never see a worried face, or a troubled face, and a nun just has to pick up a child, whatever it is, and she can't help laughing.Some nuns are even able to pick up two or three children at the same time, kissing one and then the other.The love and joy from the heart are very beautiful and touching. When reporter Jane Goodwin was interviewing a children's home, she saw Sister Emmy holding a man with severe mange and covered with ointment. The boy kissed him with his nose for a while, and then with his forehead for a while, so he couldn't help asking: "Aren't you self-infected?" Sister Amy replied: "Oh, if you try Try it, and you will find that you will soon overcome the fear of being infected, and before long, you will not feel that they are any different from other children. You only know that they are children, and children need many, many love."

This is what makes nuns different from ordinary doctors.In addition to medicine, surgery and nursing, there is a more important treatment, that is, psychotherapy with love.And when Sister Delam was still a little girl Gongsha in Skopje, she had already realized the importance of this kind of treatment for human beings. Sister Delam was such a child-loving person that she smiled when she entered the Foundling Home, no matter what troubled her at the time.She often holds a baby in one hand and walks from one room to another, checking and supervising the work, and hugging and kissing the baby happily.

These defenseless children are Mumu's closest friends, and we have every reason to believe that.When she held a newborn baby in her arms, the sincere love and pity in her eyes; when she showed the child in her arms to people, the pride and joy that could not be concealed, and the high-spirited look made people feel happy. One felt in a trance that she was the child's biological mother. Among the abandoned babies in the children's homes, a large part are newborns, and more than half of the newborns are premature babies.Premature births are mostly the result of failed abortions.Sunita said: "I think some mothers used to take drugs to kill their children. These children were poisoned before they were born. They struggled to be born, and some of them succeeded. It cannot but be called a miracle. Some babies were born less than two pounds, couldn't even suck, and could only inject a little nutrition into the stomach through the nostrils, but they survived."

Most of the clothes for newborns come from Europe, but generous donors have no idea what those little lives on the verge of death look like.So, the nuns had to remind them repeatedly: If you want to make a hat for a premature baby, you can't make it bigger than a tennis ball. One can imagine how difficult it is to raise such a baby safely.Therefore, there will always be some children who die irretrievably for various reasons.When their little bodies were getting cold slowly, the nuns always wrapped them up carefully like their own mothers. once.Mumu even pulled a newborn child out of the mouth of a jackal - and he was thrown in a garbage dump.Two volunteers from Europe experienced that terrible event with Mumu, which they will never forget.This unfortunate little life didn't survive long in Mumu's arms before dying.But Mumu said: Even if they die in an hour, we will take them in.These babies can't be left alone, unloved -- even small babies can feel loved.

The fact is that even a small baby can feel love, not only that, any living thing can feel love, a puppy, a kitten, even a plant -- a tree, a flower, You can also feel love.Just like the little prince and his roses written by Saint Exupery, and the fox waiting for love. In the eyes of a child I see the Lord It didn't take long for the reputation of the Children's Home to spread rapidly. Some parents who could not afford to raise their children sent their children here after hearing the story of Sister Duran. For such children, Mumu never turned her away. When Babu, the little boy of Motiji, when he was 10 years old, the mother died.The father had no choice but to lead him and his younger siblings to find Sister Duran for help.Bubba's father knelt in front of Mumu, tears streaming down his face.He asked Mumu to accept Babu's younger brother and sister, and then he took Babu to beg and wander.Because he couldn't find a job that was enough to make ends meet, Mu Mu looked at them with great sadness in her heart. She knew that they were not without self-esteem, but fell into a desperate situation.So she immediately decided not only to accept Bubba's younger brother and sister, but also Bubba and his father.The younger brother is only two years old, so he naturally goes to the nursery; the younger sister and Bubba are old enough to go to school.As for Bubba's father, Mother arranged for him to work as a handyman in the Foundling Hall, and the reward was to provide him with the same food as the nuns every day.

In addition to adopting abandoned babies, the children's home also takes in some older children. If a widow has several children, the children's home will consider adopting one or two of them to share the burden for her.After these children come to the children's home, they mainly study. In addition to recognizing characters, arithmetic, singing, dancing, painting, and reading, the most important thing is to learn one or two skills so that they can support themselves when they grow up. One day, a nun met a child on the street, she saw that he was a homeless child, and brought him back.The child kept complaining that his stomach hurts, and the nun thought, maybe he ate something dirty.Just ask him what he had for breakfast?The child didn't eat anything.The nun asked again, what about last night?The child still didn’t eat anything, so what about yesterday’s day? The child still didn’t eat anything.

This poor child, it turns out that his stomach hurts, but he is actually hungry. Everyone in the Missionaries of Charity was shocked by what happened to this child.Later, during the long years of fighting for food for hungry children, Mumu would speak of the child many times. The suffering of these children moved and pushed Mumu, making her realize that just having this children's home in Calcutta is far from enough.Therefore, when the time was right, she founded an international Children's Rescue Foundation. With her influence, she mobilized almost all individuals and organizations that care about children around the world. Mumu said: "I see the Lord in the eyes of a child." Pious faith is the perspective of Mumu's perspective of the world and life. She sees the magic and holiness that we cannot see. In order to express his gratitude to his mother, a child made a sign by himself and hung it around his neck for many years.The sign reads: "Mother Teresa, thank you for taking me in." This child is called St. Vincent de. love has no boundaries In the children's home, in addition to taking care of the children's daily life so that they can grow up safely, the nuns also try their best to restore the sick or disabled children to health, and at the same time, they also rack their brains to make the children laugh .Most of these children with unfortunate backgrounds are relatively silent, introverted, and unhappy.And the nuns know very well that life can only grow healthily if it is always joyful. So, how can we keep children happy all the time? Once, the nuns found a pair of mother and child in the garbage dump. The mother was dying, but the child was still alive.Not long after the nuns rescued them, their mother died.Since then, that little baby has never refused to nurse or laugh, no matter how the nuns tease and comfort him, he will not move his little mouth.Then a nun who looked like his mother came by, and he broke into a big grin.The nun did nothing but approach him and he smiled. Although this was a small matter, it shocked and enlightened Sister Duran a lot, making her realize that as long as she is a child, she would hope to grow up in a normal family with both parents, even a poor family.Above all, they need to live in the love of a mother, which cannot be replaced by anyone.Therefore, it is not enough to just take them in, one must also plan for their future - suitable foster parents must be found for them. But when it came to the specific operation, Mumu was very cautious.First, find out the child's original family, whether the parents are still alive, and whether they have the ability to support them.Second, try to find Indian adoptive parents for the children. Mumu believes that it would be better if the children can grow up in their own country and culture. However, after a few years, more than ten years, or even longer time passes, most of the adopters are still from wealthy Europe and the United States, and there are actually very few Indians who are really willing to adopt abandoned children. One Belgian couple even adopted a disabled child.They said: "We have enough love to raise him, and at the same time, we have enough money to treat him." Later, when the Japanese director Shigeki Kanba was filming a documentary for Delam, he made a special trip to Belgium to visit the family.Chiba Shigeru saw with his own eyes that the dark-skinned little Indian boy who had been an outcast was loved and loved by every member of the family.Not only did he have a father and a mother, but he also had two dear little sisters, who even liked this little brother from far away India more than his parents. The child's adoptive mother proudly said to Qianye Maoshu: "This child has never been sick since he came to our house, and has always been healthy. The young ladies also take good care of him and let him do everything." Qianye Maoshu also watched I realized that although the child was a little shy in front of the camera, he always had a bright smile on his dark face. The child's adoptive father said: "We now not only have two daughters, but also a son, which makes me feel very happy, because adopting this child makes us feel that India is very close to us. If there are children from other countries who cannot If it is properly taken care of, then we would like to adopt another one." This child who entered into a Belgian family is not the only lucky one. Many children have found good or better belongings.The experience of some of these children is simply a fairy tale full of adventures.Just like a Cinderella or a poor boy, because he met and fell in love with a prince or princess, his tragic fate was completely changed in the end, and those adopters from different countries and ethnic groups with different identities can be said to be their children. prince or princess. In this world, no matter what you do, it is impossible to get everyone's approval and support.This is an immutable fact.So we should not be so surprised to hear that some people do not understand or even object to the painstaking efforts and kindness of Sister Durham. Opponents believe that Indian children should be brought up in India and should not be given to foreigners.Some people even suspected that Mumu was doing a business. An Indian newspaper once published an article entitled "Sold Indian Children". For these speculations and objections, Mumu just laughed it off. Mumu never judged those who misunderstood her. In her view, those children are all her children. As long as they can live a happy life, she will not be wronged. What kind of.Mumu said, "Love has no boundaries. Race, nationality, country, language and belief should not be a limitation. As long as there is love, you can become father and son, brothers and sisters, and you can live under the same roof. Next. The most important thing is whether there is love, not anything else." For each adopted child, Mumu has a detailed file.Their photos, resumes, and the situation of their adoptive families are recorded in detail in several thick albums.Therefore, these photo albums became priceless books that Mu Mu cherished very much.When someone came to visit the monastery, the mother would proudly bring out those precious books and invite the visitors to share her joy and happiness. As for those children who have not been adopted, the children's home will naturally become their eternal home, and the monks and nuns will become their close parents, and they will live here until they grow up.When they reach the age of study, the congregation will arrange for them to enter the school to study.After they have finished their studies, they will arrange jobs for them.Once they reach the age of marriage, the nuns will help them start a family—only on that day, the care of them by the nuns will come to an end, and they will bring their children back to visit the nuns. Will joke with them, saying, "Not one mother-in-law or mother-in-law, but 20 or more mother-in-laws or mother-in-laws are waiting for you." Among them, there are also many outstanding children who have been admitted to universities after they grow up, or enter higher-level institutions of higher learning to receive education.There are also children who stayed here when they grew up and became a nun or monk of the Missionary Society of Charity. There was a boy, whose parents had died, who was sent to a children's home by his elderly grandmother.Later, he was admitted to the university with excellent grades. After graduating from the university, he did not choose the colorful secular life, but swore to follow the example of Mother Delam and devote his life's efforts to the poor.Later, he grew into an excellent priest. Sister Bernard who once raised him said: "When he was young, his concubine asked him several times what he would do when he grew up. Every time, he looked at him with bright eyes, reverence and affection. Mother, say firmly and clearly: 'I will be Mother Teresa'." Look, life is here India is a populous country, and the population problem has always plagued the country.Many people believe that India's poverty is, to some extent, related to India's large population.Perhaps it is based on this social understanding that abortion and the abandonment of newborns are so common in India, and people seem to have reached a tacit agreement on this issue. But Mother Delam believes that God created a world of abundance, enough to feed everyone in the world.If someone dies of hunger, it must not be that there is not enough food, but that there is a problem with the distribution. In Mu Mu's view, every child is the masterpiece of God, who created them out of love, even if they are still in the mother's body. They too are the handiwork of God.Therefore, every child has one supreme right, which is birthright.This right is given by God.No one can, nor should, take it away from them. The Lebanese poet Gibran wrote in the book (The Prophet): Your children are not your children, but the children that "life" desires for itself. They come through you, but not from you. They come from you. Though it is with you, it does not belong to you. In order to defend the birthright of every child, Mother Durham has fought on the battlefield of anti-abortion all her life. In India, she often speaks publicly to protest the government's sterilization program - some overly radical government officials have turned family planning into forced sterilization, especially in rural areas, which has led to many tragedies.In this regard, Mother Delam said: "Life belongs to God, and we have no right to destroy it. We continue to kill life and put ourselves above God. Man decides who lives and who dies, and he regards himself as a Almighty Lord. I faintly heard the cries of those children who were killed before they appeared in the world, before the throne of the Lord, the cries never ceased." Finally, Mumu affirmed: "In the creation There is no greater vice than abortion." On December 10, 1979, at the awarding ceremony of the Nobel Peace Prize, Mumu stated clearly: "The worst breach of peace today is abortion. If a mother can murder her own flesh and blood in her womb, what sin is worse? It's as if we were killing each other. God said: 'Even a mother can forget My own child, and I will not forget you.' But today, millions of unborn children are being killed, and we don't say a word." "To me, the poorest countries are the ones that have legalized abortion. They are afraid of the weak, of the unborn child. Let's save the children, let's make sure every child is truly welcome, whether it is The unborn, or the unborn. So today I ask you, Your Majesty, Your Excellency, Sir, Madam, every one of you from all over the world, to pray that we may have the courage to protect these unborn beings. This Right now, I'm speaking for them in Norway." After the ceremony that day, a caring person said to Mum: "There are a lot of people who don't like what you said about abortion, so why did you say it?" Mumu smiled frankly: "But they gave me this award because of what I did. And what I did was to save lives, including unborn lives." In 1988, Eastern Europe was facing a great political change. At this time, Mother visited two branches of the Missionaries of Charity in East Germany.At that time, East Germany's abortion laws were very lax, and almost 80,000 abortions occurred every year.In the packed St. Hedwig's Church in East Berlin, Sister Delam made a sincere plea for a shelter for pregnant women in distress and reminded people that with every abortion, there is a double death, that is, , killed both a baby and his own conscience. After the speech, Mumu told reporters who came to interview her: "You know, people are always worried about innocent children killed in wars, and try to prevent this from happening. However, if a mother wants to How can you stop killing your own children? To God, every life is precious no matter what the circumstances are.” Finally, Mother said: “The unborn child is the poorest of the poor. , so they are so close to the Lord." In (Old Testament, Isaiah) Chapter 43, the Lord once explicitly promised His people "Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name, you are mine, When you pass through the water, I will be with you. When you cross the river, the water will not drown you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, and the flame will not burn you. For I am your Savior , God...because you are precious in my eyes and I adore you." It is said that this is Mumu's favorite scripture in her life. On the special battlefield of anti-abortion, Mumu has quoted this scripture many times to emphasize her point of view. However, one thing we must be clear about is that Mother Delam is against abortion, but she is not against family planning. She just emphasizes the use of natural contraceptive methods for birth control. She knows very well that in third world countries , especially in some extremely poor areas of these countries, population control is very necessary.It is also a matter of course.But she kept repeating one point: the individual's right to make decisions must be respected, especially when it comes to birth control.Life cannot be destroyed, because every life is unique and precious in the eyes of God, and has value and dignity. In order to effectively fight against abortion, Mother Delam and the nuns began to teach poor women of childbearing age a natural contraceptive method, using beads to teach them to learn to count menstrual cycles and measure body temperature in order to accurately calculate the "safe period".Mumu calls this approach "self-control out of love". This kind of self-control out of love is the core content of the "Natural Family Plan" promoted by Mumu. This natural family plan, because it not only respects the rights of women and children, but also effectively solves the reproductive problems of poor families, was welcomed when it was first implemented, and it soon succeeded.And because this method does not violate the teachings and regulations of the Catholic Church, the bishop also supports it.In the first year of its implementation, the number of births in the city of Calcutta alone dropped by as much as 30,000. In addition, reducing abortion by adopting babies is also a way for Mumu to fight abortion.Mumu always tells women and doctors who are about to have an abortion: "If you don't want it, don't kill him, please give him to me and let me take care of him." Anti-abortion through adoption has also achieved great success, but Mumu believes that this is the grace of God.Mumu said that without God's gift, she could not have saved thousands of lives through adoption in just a few years. Although Mumu's anti-abortion position is so clear, when she faced a specific abortion woman, she was full of deep sympathy and pity for them.She never criticizes them, let alone despise them. Once, a young woman came to her crying, saying that she had aborted a child years ago, and although the years had passed, she still could not shake off the strong sense of guilt.Therefore, she suffered so much that she couldn't sleep or eat.Mumu didn't blame her at all, but took her hand and said: "Well, then, adopt a child, a child who is about the same age as your child, and if you have another child in the future, treat him as a gift from God." Cherish it. " A reporter named Muggleridge followed Mumu to many places in order to shoot a TV film about her. On this day, they came to the children's home.Looking at the room full of sick, disabled and weak abandoned babies who were waiting to be fed, Magrige couldn't help asking his sister: "Many people now think that in India, a country with an overpopulation, it takes so much effort. It's not necessary to protect these children who may soon die, don't you think?" Mumu didn't answer Magrigge right away, but bent down and picked up a small and thin girl who didn't seem to live long, then lifted her up and said triumphantly: "Look, life is here!" Magrich was so excited that he was speechless immediately.Writing a commentary for the show, he wrote: "Yes, we too should point to our world, a world of disruption, conflict and suffering, and say aloud, 'Look, life is here! " Magery also wrote: "Life has a divine origin and a divine destination. Life is not an evolution or any other process, but a drama, and God is the great director - the great creator." , and every single one of us, including that skinny little girl, is an actor—participating in it." Today, Shishu, Baman (Children's Home) in Kolkata has developed into a fairly well-established institution with several tall buildings. The outpatient department at the entrance is specially for the poor to bring their children to see a doctor. Generally, there are three doctors on duty, and they receive about 2,000 patients a week.The nuns who take care of sick children in the ward have received specialized medical training and are qualified to work as doctors and nurses.The room, lined with rows and rows of green cots, is reserved for newborns and babies.The rooms with courtyards are for children.Under normal circumstances, the nuns have to take care of about 300 children. There was also a shelter for poor unwed mothers and a school for children who had been abused on the street or turned into child prostitutes.In order to ensure that each child has a good belonging, the congregation has also set up an office for adoption here. In the basement of the building, the congregation also opened a free cafeteria, which supplies more than a thousand meals a day.The diners are all street beggars.This is where they depend on food, and it is their only meal of the day.