I would love for you to meet a little boy named Deep Halder.

At five months old, doctors found that he was born with Thalassemia. Thalassemia is a hereditary blood disease that makes an abnormal form of hemoglobin. Because of this, every six weeks he needs a blood transfusion. The disorder is very costly, especially to a family bellow the poverty line. When he was diagnosed with this disease, his mother and father abandoned him and married other people. He has not heard from his parents since then.

His grandparents took Deep in and raised him. Every six weeks, Deep’s grandparents take him to the doctor to get his blood transfusion, which costs 1600 rupees, equivalent to 31 US dollars.

Deep’s grandfather drives a rickshaw; on good days he makes about 50 rupees.

Deep’s grandmother is a housemaid. She makes about 700 rupees a month.

If you try and do the math, Deep’s transfusions cost roughly 80% of the families income.

Deep sat playing with a little strip of fabric as his grandmother told us of their struggles. We sat on the bed in their two-room palm frond walled home and looked at that adorable little five-year-old, shy as could be, and I wondered how he was still alive. We asked the grandmother how they managed to pay for his transfusions, she replied that Compassion International paid for all his medical needs, and so in the Lords name, Compassion saved this adorable little boy’s life.

After this, we asked the grandmother what we could pray for, she said to pray for healing in Deep. So we prayed over Deep, we prayed for healing in his blood.

While we were leaving, the grandmother looked me in the eye and took my hand in both of hers and told me to come again. I can’t explain why this was so powerful to me, but I knew that it was completely genuine, and I could see the love in her eyes. What an amazing woman.

Please pray for Deep and his loving grandparents.