Josie was the first baby I held when we arrived at the orphanage in Haiti. She needed help holding up her head, but otherwise seemed fine. Throughout the week we were there, she was a very typical baby. She watched everything and everyone around her with bright wide eyes and smiles. The day we left Haiti, Josie was having trouble breathing. We learned later that this was the start of a lot of sickness for Josie. She developed pneumonia three times over the last 3 months. She spent a lot of time with one-on-one nanny attention and eventually got to return to the regular baby room. She was eating well, and growing both physically and developmentally. She was even trying to imitate sounds and words!
Last weekend, Josie died. She was playing and smiling on Thursday, and on Saturday night she couldn't breathe. She was rushed to the hospital nearest the orphanage, but they weren't equipped to help her. She was put on oxygen and transported to a second hospital, but passed upon reaching the second hospital.
Josie was very, very much loved and adored by the nannies and staff at the orphanage. She received constant care, and her medical needs were always attended to. While it was unclear what was causing her seizures, or what was causing her to grow so sick so suddenly, she was cared for to the very best of everyone's abilities in Haiti. I have absolutely no doubt of any of this.
We will never know, but I am willing to bet that the resources here in America could have helped save Josie. She was just 9 months old, and never should have had to go through those 9 months without the medicine she needed, or the therapies to help her little lungs. Haiti is the world's poorest country, and it's impossible for me to imagine the medical attention she had access to there is equivalent to what she could have accessed here.
Having said that little boast of confidence for America, I feel we as Americans have so much to learn. We may be richer than Haiti, but we are poor in a lot of areas. God gives us so much, what are we doing with it? The love Josie received in Haiti could not be matched here, because there she had unrelated caregivers willing to snuggle her in at night, make her laugh during the day, and hold her sweet little hand throughout the night while she lay in a hospital bed trying to fight for her life. We weren't there, but those nannies and doctors were. They have so little, but give and give of themselves every day. I know she was well cared for. But it breaks my heart to know that had Josie been adopted, she may still be alive.
Some may say, Josie is just one baby. She is just one orphan. Thousands of children died today. But Josie is Jesus' child - Jesus' precious daughter. And so are every, single, one of those orphans out there. She is just one tiny example of the thousands of children who die EVERY HOUR of starvation and sickness. Every one of those are God's children, and He calls us to do something about it. There are over 2.7 Billion professed Christians in the world. If only 8% of those adopted just ONE child - just one....there would be no more orphans. NO MORE ORPHANS.
I may have mentioned that statistic before, and forewarning - I will probably mention it again. Because it is so incredibly baffling to me that there IS HOPE - that is just not that many people who have to adopt before there are no more orphans. Yes, future generations would have to keep up that adoption rate for this to remain true, but the example starts here.
If you have ever felt called to adopt, please please pray that God will use you, and open your hearts to this calling. God says it right in His word - we are instructed to care for the orphans. There are many ways to care for the orphans...but if you feel called to bring one home and call your son or daughter, please follow that little voice inside of you. I have so much information I can give you about domestic or international adoption - just ask. It can seem like a daunting and lengthy process but I promise you, God's callings are not always pain free. However, the end goal is a beautiful gift from Him, and you would never ever regret it.
My heart aches for Josie's sweet father who has lost his wife and now his baby daughter. My heart rejoices that Josie is with Jesus now, sleeping in His arms completely healthy. Then my heart aches again for all the orphans left in this world with no home, no family, and such little resources to help meet their needs. Some children literally only eat 1 meal every other day. 1 meal every 48 hours... We have enough to overeat at every single meal. Don't let that guilt you're feeling make you go into a hole and pretend the problem is bigger than you and that you can't make a difference. Together all of us can make a difference. Please pray for anything you feel moved to pray for. Then listen to what God is asking you to do with this information. I'm a stubborn listener sometimes, and I allow my own feelings of selfishness and feelings that I deserve more to cloud my vision. I know the sinner that I am, and I'm so very thankful for the grace Jesus gives me, and the many opportunities I have to see my sin and recognize the need to do more. Josie is one of them.
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