He Will Not Forget
God’s heart for the lost—honoring and remembering them when no one else does
Some 14 years ago in the middle of a humble grass hut in Southeast Asia, God began writing a new story of redemption from a heartbreaking moment of tragedy. Although fleas, lice, roaches, and rats ran rampant throughout the little home, the fire kept kindled in the center of the hut proved the biggest danger to its residents.
In this home was baby Anisa,* who was left unattended and consequently rolled into the fire. Before anyone realized the tragedy that was taking place, her right foot was burned off and her hands were terribly burned. Because quality medical care is scarce in this location, the accident resulted in a number of fingers missing from Anisa’s hands, and what was left was disfigured and dysfunctional.
Throughout her childhood and on into her current life, condemnation and bullying were a harsh reality for Anisa—there is no compassion for her from her own people. And it isn’t only her physical disability working against her—in her culture, if a boy is born, there is a celebration, but if a girl is born, there is disappointment. Many in the area will recommend a man take a second or third wife should he only have daughters. Not only does her being female immediately diminish her worth in this culture, but her physical deformities from her accident as an infant are also viewed as a curse on her and her family.
In the eyes of everyone around her, Anisa was completely worthless.
Anisa’s home life through her childhood has been no less broken. For much of her life, Anisa’s father was the village leader and had a number of wives all over the area—and although she grew up in the village where her father is originally from, he was rarely present. As for Anisa’s mother, she comes from a different village and spent significant time retreating there during Anisa’s childhood due to constant domestic conflict. Consequently, Anisa and her siblings have grown up with their grandmother, who is harsh and sharp-tongued toward them.
During her seventh-grade year, amid all the suffering in her life, God brought an opportunity to Anisa. Through her school, she came across a project led by Alliance international workers and joined their boot camp—a dorm program that would build her skills both in the classroom and in everyday tasks at home. Over the past year-and-a-half in the dorm program, Anisa has done everything that all the other kids do—typing on her computer, working in the garden, washing her clothes, and even beating a number of the boys from town when she ran a mile with just a stump for a right foot! Despite her physical circumstances, she is continually responsible and diligent in the hard work set before her. One of the international workers leading the dorm project notes, “Our theme for the year is trauma healing and choosing to be a victor and not a victim . . . it is amazing how much [Anisa] loves just being one of the kids instead of being singled out as different or less than or weaker than.” Even as she endured harsh domestic conditions, international workers and dorm parents noticed that, as she spent time in their program, “[Anisa took] this and allowed it to make her stronger and has not saved resentment or unforgiveness in her heart.”
During her time at the dorms, Anisa’s father lost his position as head of the village and decided to become more involved in the lives of his children. One remarkable moment for Anisa’s relationship with him was when he brought her a rabbit to raise as a part of fulfilling her dorm responsibilities, where students must garden and raise animals to help cover the costs of their food and schooling. Anisa was glowing from the attention and care she received from her father that day. This moment was an answered prayer, delighting Anisa’s heart, and yet—there is a greater love at play here. Anisa’s Heavenly Father has been by her side from the very beginning, with her through each and every piece of suffering she has endured.
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.”
—Isaiah 49:15–16
In the dangers of her own home, God was Anisa’s safety.
In her inability to save her own life, God was sovereign over it.
In the disappointment of her family and culture at her gender, God rejoices over her with singing.
As her own people call her cursed because of her disfigurement, God calls her blessed.
Despite her abandonment by her parents, God does not forget her.
Anisa—despite physical form and ability, despite home life, despite cultural and societal value—has a prominent place in the Kingdom, given to her by the God who sees and saves. For He has not forgotten her—He will not. He has engraved her on the palms of His hands, as proven and fulfilled in the scars that the nails of the Cross left behind on the hands of Jesus.
International workers here are consistently seeking creative ways to empower individuals and families to function according to God’s good design, and there are abundant opportunities for redemptive stories to be written through the West Papua Dorms project. Now that she is settled in the program, Anisa is able to look forward to corrective surgery and a prosthetic foot, if funding allows. While she is still young, dorm parents and international workers are walking alongside her to help her determine and provide for God’s plan for her life. The funding and teaching provided through the West Papua Dorms project allows the majority of students enrolled to go on to university with full scholarships, relieving the financial burden of further education and bringing about the success and stability necessary to establish healthy families, both physically and spiritually, for future generations. You can help by giving directly to the project and praying for Anisa and other students receiving the love and care of Jesus through the West Papua Dorms project.
*Name changed
About the Author
Emily Smith is an editor and copywriter for the National Office. Emily earned her bachelor of arts from Iowa State University in 2021 and moved to the Columbus, Ohio, area after graduation as part of a church-planting team ministering to the city of Columbus and campus of Ohio State.