Communiqué #118
TO MY PARTNERS in MINISTRY
to the PEOPLE of HAITI
January 12, 2016
P R A Y E R S M A K E A D I F F E R E N C E
After spending extended time in the USA to deal with some immigration issues for Léon, we are settling back into life in Haiti. One of the first items on my agenda was to talk to the parents of the baby who had surgery, as we have learned that a second surgery is needed for an unrelated abnormality that needs to be corrected before the baby (now almost 16 months old) needs before returning to her home in Haiti.
I tried to call the mother several times, but each time a recording informed me that her phone was not in working order. Then, I sent someone to find the mother at her home. It was learned that the family had moved and no one knew where they had moved to. Remembering that I had a phone number for a cousin in Port-au-Prince, we called her and eventually we reconnected with the parents and they came for a visit.
The parents came bearing two pineapples that they presented to me to show their gratitude for the help that their little girl is receiving! I am always touched by such gifts as truly they are giving what little they have that they can give!
Gift of Pineapples
The main reason I needed to talk to the parents was to get permission for this second surgery, but I was also looking forward to sitting down with them and showing them the chronological photographs that I had of their precious little daughter. We started with the photos of the day that I first met this little gal and her mama at a one-day clinic held by our mission team. We worked our way through the photos of the time spent in Port-au-Prince to get her medical visa, the travel time that the baby and I had to get to our destination in Virginia, and the meeting of her host family and pediatrician. In the mix of photos, I had a photo of the young mother who volunteered to be the baby’s wet nurse on the day the baby arrived in the USA with just having been abruptly weaned from her mother. That photo brought about some fun discussion with the parents. They were amazed that another young mother would be willing to do that for their little one. It brought joy to their faces. The parents also watched short video clips of their daughter. The photos brought pleasure. The movies brought elation! They watched as their daughter mimicked her host siblings with “bye-bye waving” and hand-clapping. The progress made with therapy to teach their little one to crawl, using her previously weakened legs, brought even more joy. It was such a pleasure watching their reactions!
We learned that the mother and father are currently living in separate homes of extended family members because they could no longer afford the rent on the house where they had been living. They had not had a place to charge their cell phones, so they had been doing without. The reality of their situation was made even clearer when they needed to ask us for money for the motor-taxi ride home. This is a family truly living day-to-day, but a family who deeply loves their little one that they have been separated from for over three months. It is hard to imagine that kind of love!
Mother & Father of our little angel
There have literally been people praying for this child and her family from all corners of our world! Please continue to do so, as your prayers have made a difference!
REMEMBERING … 6 years ago today …
the devastating Haitian earthquake of 2010!
Nora Léon
Missionary to Haiti & the Dominican Republic Until next time, God willing …………
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