Joy and Sadness We've been staying super busy every day from morning to late evening between the sick children we brought back from the mountains and the hurricane victims. I must say, you get very attached to these kids when you are trying your best to bring them out of the jaws of pending death. Thank God, most have done excellent, but the two with serious malnutrition have been in the balance. Our pediatrician has overseen their intensive care with us, but the eight year old was worse than Alex who died last year. I still remember the night we brought them back when the truck broke down. I had to pack thirteen kids and their parents into our Toyota at 11 pm. Widnor sat close to me, helping me shift and put his hand on part of the wheel, feeling like a big boy. I told him what a great chauffeur he was and will be someday. I became attached to him as we delicately cared for him each day, happy that we were seeing improvement. His body was so bloated that the lab could not draw blood, but water only. Each day was a miracle. His mom showed so much love to him before she left to get over the river Sunday to go back to Pestel to care for her other children 15 hours away. We are making plans for a much needed nutrition center there. His mother cried as she left him, saying that she would be back in January and would hopefully see him running around. I tucked him in last night, begging him to tell me anything in this whole world he wanted to eat. I was ready to walk or swim anywhere just to see this little guy eat what he felt like having. I prayed with him. His fever was down and he was drinking fluids. He said that he didn't want anything, but that when he wakes up, he would like a boiled egg and coffee. The moms give them coffee in the mornings. I said, "You got it". One big kiss and smooch, and off he went to sleep. I yelled out to Lisa as I passed her room. "He's doing so good today. He wants coffee and a boiled egg in the morning". She, knowing his slow progress, was happy along with me. I asked our nanny to prepare it early. She agreed. Little did I know that I would be awakened early morning by our head nanny. " Your little boy just died", she said. I wished that I was dreaming, but it was real. I don't know why, but I thought that if I threw my clothes on fast enough and ran down there, it would be different. What was I thinking? His little body was still warm! I looked into that precious face and that bloated body with unbelief. Unbelief not only that this child was gone, but unbelief that any child had to die this horrible death from hunger. How much pain and misery did he bear to reach this end? How many more children are still out there? What about his mother? She just got home. How can we tell her? This was to be a day of joy. After all, Christ Fellowship church was coming, and we had plans to feed children in tent cities, orphanages, and City Soliel. Although the pain doesn't just go away, we thank God that He helped us through this day. We were able to bring joy to so many needy children. We served over 1200 people. The church provided the funds to give cooked food to the tent city orphanage and over 200 kids in City Soliel. We brought them in to a secure place from a dreadfully poor area, knowing this would be the only meal for most of them all day. We gave them a piece of chicken with their food, an almost unheard of gift. We ended the day by going to tent city, where 250 more kids were fed, and 204 bags of food were distributed . What a joy to see these kids eat a good meal in such miserable conditions. One little girl in City Soliel came with her best clothes on. She had one shoe that was an old dress sandal on one foot and on the other was a flip flop. This was all she had but she looked beautiful. Widnor's death today is another assurance that we are moving in the right direction to place several malnutrition feeding centers in the worst areas in the mountains. This week we are trusting God to fill a truck with food and medicine to take to the mountains where the hurricane hit the hardest, leaving homes down , roofs off , animals dead and crops destroyed. They need immediate food and meds as Chlorea has begun already in one village where Alex's mom died. This eventually took his life, having no mother to care for him. These programs will help save lives, providing good meals, worm medication, vitamins and clean water. We need the help of everyone. Yes, the problem is big, but we cannot let these children continue to die. If you ever saw a child like this and the miserable pain connected with this horrible death, you would never forget it. Please pray for us and for God's direction and provision. It's no wonder that God said in Psalm 41, BLESSED is he that considers the poor. So many promises follow as He sees the misery and suffering and asks us to share His blessings. Please help us by giving to these children. We can't do it without your help. Love, Miriam  |
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