Women (and one man) Who Shaped My Life

I don't remember a time I didn't know my calling was to care for orphans.  I grew up on stories of women (and one man) who did the same:
a missionary in the fictional book Star of Light
Gladys Aylward (missionary to China; Inn of the Sixth Happiness)
Amy Carmichael (missionary to India)
George Muller (started an orphanage in England)
Mary Slessor (missionary to Africa)
I also saw countless street children, beggars, and refugees overseas.  One little girl stands out in my mind.  She lived in a Nuristani village near where we spent our summer.  She had a cleft lip.  No one would play with her; they threw rocks at her.  I wanted to take her home with us.  She stood in the street and stared at us, her mouth gaping, snot dripping, blood trickling down her face from where a rock had struck her.  I've always wondered what happened to her.

The Apple

The apple was mealy and bland.  The kind that your teeth press into a bit before they finally pierce the skin, the kind that mushes between your teeth.  It was the most delicious apple I’ve ever tasted.  I had hepatitis and could hardly eat anything.  All I wanted was an apple.  Every day all I could think of was how good an apple would feel between my teeth, how the juice would fill my mouth and run down my chin, how I would crunch each tangy bite.  But apples weren’t in season.  My dad spent all day looking for one and finally paid three dollars for the only apple in the whole city.  Thanks, Dad.