Seven years ago today
I was called by the police about a newborn baby girl who was found in a black
plastic bag and left under some bushes not far from Project Canaan. She had been there for 2-3 days, as evidenced
by her umbilical cord. Her body was
covered in burns from the hot plastic burning her skin and she was bruised,
bleeding and her eyes were swollen shut.
She had maggots and other insects crawling out of all openings and open
wounds on her body and she didn’t weigh more than 3 pounds. She came to live with Ian and me for the next
18 days while we got her injuries healed, and loved her back to life.
I am tempted to show
you a photo of the baby back then and a photo of her today, but we all have to
be SO careful to protect her right to privacy, and although many of you know
who she is, I won’t mention her name in this blog, but I have included a couple
of photos of her in the early days below, including one of my favorites, which
is of her hand beside Ian’s in the doll crib that dad made for me when I was a
little girl.
Last week this little
girl turned 7-years-old and she enjoyed birthday cake with two other children
who share the same date (different years).
It’s hard to believe that seven years have gone by and that this sweet girl
is now in Primary School. Where did the time go? She is happy, healthy, silly, a bit shy from
time to time, and a complete joy to be around.
We have not seen any side effects from her rough start. She was loved back to life.
And then there is
little Buck who came to us and the end of last year. He was severely malnourished and has been in
and out of the hospital with a bulging fontanelle and fever, but all tests,
including Lumbar Puncture’s and bloodwork have come back clear so we assume
these are side effects of the malnutrition. This little guy is now 18-months
old, and while he doesn’t walk (or crawl), he might just be the world’s fastest
“scootcher!
I know many of you
will be celebrating Valentine’s Day this weekend and so I will make this blog
short and sweet and leave you with some photos that might just bring you
joy! This sweet baby is Treasure, and
when she turns her (significant) frown upside down, her smile lights up the
whole room. On Monday I sat with her and took some selfies. As you can see below, she got the hang of it
very quickly, mimicking each face I made to the phone.
February is Child
Sponsorship month at Heart for Africa and we have had FIVE new people sponsor a
child and ONE existing sponsor increase their monthly gift. Would you consider sponsoring a child today or
increasing your monthly gift? We would
very much appreciate your love and support.
πΊπΈ US: http://bit.ly/hfahopestarts
π¨π¦ Canada: http://bit.ly/hfahopestartsca
Happy Valentine’s Day
weekend!
Live from Dallas,
Texas … it’s Saturday morning!
Janine
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