In Prayer and Thanks Giving

I have a new room mate. She joined Stephanie and I two weeks ago. Before you ask, no, it wasn't my idea, it was Dixie's.... She didn't have to ask twice though!

This little lady had been on an IV for a week. She was refusing to feed and our Director felt that she needed some extra TLC. The long and short of it is that TLC worked. Ti cheri (the little darling) came to us weighing 7lb 4oz. Her weight today is 9lb. She is a chubby, beautiful girl and she is starting to do all kinds of amazing things. She smiles, she coos and she pushes her self up when she is lying on her stomach... at risk of being called a baby bore, i'll say no more about her, but can you tell I am in love?

A 15 month old boy was admitted just over two weeks ago. At 13lb, he was marasmic. We had to put him into isolation when he arrived, because he had a contagious skin infection and we didn't want it spreading to the other children. He was angry and depressed when he arrived, but has blossomed with one-on-one attention from Viviene, who cared for him while he was in isolation.
The new little man in our lives is shown here with one of our older children

At 15lb 12oz, this toddler boy's muscles are still wasted, and the skin still wrinkles at his knees, but he has a feisty spirit, and so I believe he will recover. His first word after he arrived was 'Hallelujah!' (that was Vivienne's doing). His second was 'no.' There was no tantrum, just a shake of the head and a quiet but firm refusal to take the medicine on the spoon!

And the little boy we admitted last month, the one who weighed 10lb at 9 months, is now just short of 14lb. He is great fun and very loving. He is always patting the crying NICU babies. Make no mistake, I am head over heels is love with this boy!

Please join me in praying that we will find a wonderful adoptive family for him, and lets give thanks that both of our malnourished boys are doing so well!

Also in need of prayer is this little man. He has been unwell and he has been losing weight. I had a conversation with one of the senior nannies last Thursday. I was holding him, encouraging him to feed. She looked at the baby with a tired, knowing smile.

'He is very thin'
'Yes Jocelyn, he is.'
'Does he have anemia'
'Yes'
'So you are giving him fer-in-sol'(iron supplement).
'oui'.

Jocelyn nodded, still with that same knowing look, and her voice dropped as she advised me I
had to get him to eat. 'You have to make him strong. If you make him strong, he might live.'

'Might.' That got me. I nodded, but couldn't say another word.

Nothing can be taken for granted. Many Haitian babies are born malnourished, because the mothers themselves are undernourished. This makes the babies fragile, and Haiti is not kind to fragile babies. The staff here know the downward spiral of malnutrition and ill health only too well.

We are doing everything in our power to restore this precious little man to good health, and there is reason to be hopeful. Although he is tiny, he is strong enough to hold up his head, and he has an amazing, cheeky smile. He is also getting one-on-one care from a wonderful, compassionate Christian lady with a gift for nurturing tiny babies. We will do what we can, the rest is up to God.

" I know the plans have for you says the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. To give you hope and a future."