Sparkyyyy….that’s what we’ve renamed her because when we try to say her name we mispronounce it and say it incorrectly and it is a very nasty word in Khmer.  It really suits her, but not when she first came here.  It sure didn’t.  She is an orphan from Svay Pak, and she stayed with a family that would sell her for sex whenever they needed money and would allow anyone to rape her whenever they felt like it.  She is just a little six year old girl.  Short black hair, big dark eyes, just darling.  She’s just beautiful, especially when she smiles.  She was so mistreated by this family.  When she got a case of head lice, they shaved her head.  It was just very humiliating for her.  The ladies and girls in Cambodia pride themselves on their long, beautiful hair, and she looked like a mini monk or a little boy.  The community would snare at her and call her degrading names.  When and if there was any food left over after the family ate, they would throw it on the floor, and she would have to scramble and fight the dogs to get anything.  One day Pastor Chantha and his wife, Bunthen, found out about her, and they called ARC.  They told ARC’s Administrator of Counseling, Siserat, of Sparky’s dilemma.  Siserat got in touch with the Ministry of Social Affairs to get custody of her and brought her to ARC.  This was about six months ago now.  When she first arrived here, she wouldn’t raise her head or look at anybody.  At meal time, her head was always down low to the table. She was always out to protect herself and her food, and she would glance furtively about.  One day a house mom offered her some food, and she just stared and looked dumb struck; she wouldn’t take it.  When the mom walked away and left it on the table by her, she grabbed it and ran from the table ninja-like.  An adult offering her food?…It was just unthinkable to her, and it certainly hadn’t happened very often in her very short six years.  Yesterday I met up with her at one of the water coolers, one that has a hot water tap, and she was there with a bowl of ramen noodles to make herself soup just clicking her chopsticks away. She looked at me and gave me a big ole smile, “Hey Nana!”.  It just choked me up because here she was so confident just making a snack in the middle of the day.  Day by day she has become more relaxed and confident knowing she is in a place that loves her and will let her eat however much she wants whenever she wants it and she doesn’t have to fight for scraps of food off the floor amongst dogs and cats.  At meal time, she just gets up and gets more rice or anything she wants anytime she wants it.  She’s just a darling little girl.  Right now she is outside playing this game that I can’t understand, as you can hear in the background.  It is because of God’s grace and his love and provision flowing into Cambodia through you that little Sparky is eating, and learning, and laughing and playing and thriving, and she knows it’s because of Jesus and people like you. She is one happy girl.  We here in Cambodia are blessed to witness this. Our sincerest gratitude for your prayers, support and encouragement.  God bless you and keep you until we talk again.  Bye bye.