Our first couple of days there, we worked on organizing the medicine, clothing, and food depos, but most importantly getting to know the kids and babies. I love babies! My heart was immeditely drawn to this little guy named Maki. He just had the kind of personality that makes your face light up with a smile, and big brown, happy eyes. Then I meet baby Stephanie. I do not think there could be a cute baby. This baby was just so, so cute! She has big fat cheeks, and we had endless fun squishing them and making her look like a chubby fish. Oh goodness, and how she would laugh! It would make me so happy! Then I meet Missy. Missy was three months old, but she was so frail and tiny. She lived in a house with very strong voodoo presence, and we could tell that was what was holding her back, so our team prayed, and prayed, and prayed for her to be set free, and to grow strong and healthy, and wow - God is faithful, and he heard our prayers! That little girl grew stronger, her skin became softer and darker, her hair started growing, there was an unmistakable light in her eyes. She was free! Thank you Lord! Then there was baby Bernadine. Oh my, she was a cutie! So healthy, so happy, full of joy from the Lord. Just looking at that kid made my heart so happy. I know, that just like with all the other babies, God has a plan for her, for them. Plans to prosper them, and not to harm them. Plans to give them a hope and a future.
The next baby arrived during my second week there. Now I don't know what it is about this little guy, but he captured my heart. I literally feel as if my heart is missing...but not lost. Because I know who has it. That would be Leo. Leo's mom died in child birth (I think), and he was given to relatives, who for some reason or another didn't want him or couldn't take care of him, so they left him on the road. On the side of the road. People that's just crazy. Sometimes I'm sad because I feel like nobody wants me, yea, but really, I know I have people who care about me. Leo. Leo was abandoned. He had nobody. His life was left to the mercy of anyone who would care. Anyone. They could have been good. They could have been bad. But God. God is good, and somebody brought him to us. Leo wouldn't smile. It was like he couldn't. There was no love in this poor little baby's life. His first two months in this world, were probably harder than mine, or yours, ever will be. So man, I spent every second I could holding that baby and loving on him with everything with in my heart and then some. God's love just poured out of me in a way so intense I knew it couldn't possibly be me. And guess what? By the end of three weeks, Leo tripled his weight, his eyes were bright, his skin was darker, he had little wisps of hair starting to come in....and he could smile. He smiled! I have never, ever, seen anything so beautiful in my entire life. Really he is not a pretty baby, but when he smiled it was like all of heaven broke loose. I could not contain my joy. There were sometimes when I was so happy, my heart felt like it would leap out of my chest, and my eyes would weld up with tears longing to be shed. Tears of pure relief and of joy. Joy. Joy!
God does care. God takes care of everyone. He cares about me, he cares about you. God answers prayers. God listens. God is just God, and God isn't pocket sized. He's just, and he's powerful, and he's crazy. The amount of his love just absolutely blows me out of the water. There is no way I could ever life without it, and I want everyone to have it. Every single person on this enire planet - "until the whole world knows" - JESUS IS AWESOME! Because Jesus is God, and God is love.
