Ready and Waiting...

His nickname is KK. He is four years old. He can't sit up. He can't run. He can't do anything on his own. He was born with a disability. He has struggled all his life. He is easy to overlook. To ignore. To pass by. But he is worthy of so much more. He is capable of so much more. He is loved. He is cared for. He is prayed over. He is precious. And he deserves a family. He needs a family. He is waiting for a family. He wants a family. Someone to love. To call his own. To care for him. To spoil him. To hold his hands. To work his muscles. To teach him. To struggle with him. To feel his pain. To rejoice in his success. He is KK and he is worthy of this unconditional love and acceptance.

This is a boy that I have known for over two years. He was one of the kids assigned to me for one-on-one time when I first arrived at COTP. He used to intimidate and overwhelm me. I wasn't sure what to do with a boy like him. I didn't know how to help him. I couldn't really even tell if he was happy or sad. I felt helpless to his struggles.

Now, two years later, I am still getting to know KK better. I am not intimidated or overwhelmed. I know to hold him, love him and work his muscles. I can see the beauty of his smile and feel the pain of his cry. I no longer feel helpless, but hopeful. I am hopeful that KK's family is out there. I am hopeful they will find him soon. I am hopeful that they will find unending joy by inviting him into their lives. I am hopeful that they will answer the call of God to help the least of these, to be blessed by the least of these. I am hopeful that He is speaking to their hearts right now.

And a few days ago, I witnessed something that I thought may never happen. I went to play with KK and his roommates and when I stopped playing with KK, he started to cry. This is huge for him, to express his desires in such a way. I couldn't help but pick him up and take him back to the house to cuddle. He was very content. Then, I needed to get up to get something, so I handed KK to a volunteer. He began to cry, and was only comforted when I came back to touch him and reassure him. Not only did he want to be held, touched and interacted with, he wanted this from a specific person. He recognized that he knew me and wanted me close. He looked into my eyes for comfort. He spoke volumes about his desire to be forever-loved, by a family. And by the God who already holds him.

Please pray that his family finds him soon. He is ready and waiting.

For more information on this precious little boy, go to http://reecesrainbow.org/20038/peter-2 or http://childrenofthepromise.org/waiting-babies/

Mourning Mighty Micah

Last night, a beautiful baby went to Jesus. Micah was just under a month old, weighed a little over three pounds and only lived with us for ten short days. But it feels like so much longer. I held him on the ride home from the hospital when we went to pick him up and he has spent the last week living upstairs with us. 

It is amazing how much you can grow to love someone in such a short time. But that is exactly what we did; every NG tube feeding given, every diaper changed, every feeding thrown up, every cuddle given, every song sung, every prayer said, we fell more in love with this precious boy. He was ours and we loved him. We rejoiced in every success and praised him for his strong will. We felt his every struggle. We held him next to our bodies and comforted him when he cried. We did everything we could to help his broken body. We trusted God for his perfect plan. And we thanked God when Micah was finally free from pain.

But still our hearts hurt for our baby; the baby that drew us together, the baby we prayed over, the baby that captivated our lives, the baby we hoped would make it. We called him Mighty Micah because we could tell that he was a fighter. Mighty Micah would not easily give up, so neither would we. We all fought as long as we could, but in the end, we knew that Micah's body needed to let go. So Chante held him as Sheila and I sat close. We listened to music and prayed for our baby's struggles to end. We felt peace as we realized his battle was over.

We already miss him terribly, but I'm so thankful to have had him in our lives. I'm thankful he came to COTP where he could get the best care possible. I'm thankful that we were here to love Micah, to cuddle him, kiss him, and pray for him. I'm thankful that we realized days ago just how precious this baby was. And I'm thankful that God trusted us enough to let us be his hands and feet to Mighty Micah.

The Importance of Good Oral Hygiene...

The other day one of our four year olds managed to escape outside with his toothbrush. His only real intention was to run around with it and to make sure he got all the toothpaste flavour off of the brush. Instead we ended up having a conversation about the importance of good oral hygiene. It went something like this:

Me: You have to brush your teeth very well.
Four year old: I don't want to.
Me: You have to. If you don't, you won't have any teeth.
Four year old: I don't want teeth.
Me: If you don't have teeth, then you can't eat.

At this point, I really have his attention, so I recap "you have to brush your teeth so that you can keep them so that you can continue to eat." All of this convinces him. He decides it is actually worth it to brush and keep your teeth. He spends the next couple minutes brushing first his front teeth and then the rest. It was quite an entertaining exchange.

Reasons I Love Haiti

Haiti really is one of my favourite places. I suppose there are many reasons, but I will pick just a few top ones to share with you.

-Being a part of prayer and singing with the nannies
-Friends to hang out with
-Beautiful beaches to relax and refresh at
-Amazing scenery to accompany the bumpy roads
-Passionate people who try their hardest
-Resilient children who greet you with a smile each day (even their pouty faces are cute)

(If you were wondering, my least favourite include the lack of berries, sunburns and when babies are sick.)

I have had an amazing few days and will try to share some more stories soon. :)