“You shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound
of your cry; When He hears it, He will answer you.” Isaiah 30:19
I have fallen in love. Yesterday, three of us spent the entire day
taking care of malnourished and underweight infants. Daisy is 2 months. She wants to be held constantly and won’t let
you put her down for a second. Eliana is
3 months. She always wants to know what
is going on around her. Any way you hold
her, she is constantly squirming around, trying to see everyone else in the
room. She loves it when you tickle her
tummy. Camilla is 5 months old and the
most outgoing. She smiles constantly and
is overcome with joy if you so much as look her way. Jose is 6 months. He loves to be tossed up in the air. He seems to have respiratory problems though,
so you have to be careful not to get him too excited. All are about the size of a newborn. They are sick from malnutrition and
underdeveloped immune systems. There
were 11 children altogether at Casa Jackson, a recovery center for malnourished infants and
children under the age of 11 years located in Antigua, Guatemala. The
center is just one of several projects by a Christian organization known as “The
GOD’S CHILD.” The center is run almost
entirely by volunteers. On this
particular day, my teammates and I were primarily in charge of the infants,
although Will Jung spent several hours caring for Esvin, a 9-year-old boy who
weighs just 20 pounds.
The
children at Casa Jackson have been neglected and underfed by their
parents. As a result, they end up sick
and in the hospital, which takes the children from their families and places
them in the care of Casa Jackson, where they stay for several months until they
are healthy. The children are then
returned to their families although, unfortunately, many of them end up bak at
Casa Jackson.
Daisy’s
mother came to visit her while we were there.
It was absolutely heartwarming to watch her with her baby, but at the
same time I was so upset with her for not keeping her precious baby
healthy. At two months, Daisy is barely
larger than my arm. There is a huge need
for health education in Guatemala.
Concepts like washing our hands and drinking only clean water are second
nature to us in the United States, but here in Guatemala these concepts are not
so common. And it is not entirely their
fault. Health education is neither
taught nor enforced on a regular basis.
Part of what Casa Jackson does is educate parents about health and
hygiene.
But the
center is in need of more volunteers and more financial support. There was no air conditioning, and for
several hours during the afternoon, it was virtually impossible to keep the
babies out of the unbearable heat. They
also do not have bottles, so we were forced to feed these babies with plastic
spoons, which takes almost an hour.
Apparently, there is a problem with dirty bottles in Antigua. They told us that a man from the United
States had promised to send bottles made in the U.S. but that they never showed
up.
The babies
are also very sick, so we had to wear face masks and scrubs, and wash and
sanitize our hands constantly. Casa
Jackson is in need of more supplies like these.
While the
circumstances were frustrating and heartbreaking, and everything in my flesh
wanted to take these children somewhere where they could be better cared for, I
had to remind myself that this is so much better than what they had
before. Here at Casa Jackson, they are
being cared for 24 hours a day.
It’s
situations like these when we have to challenge ourselves to let go and let
God. As much as I think I can do for
these babies, God can and will do infinitely more.
So we
prayed for them. We prayed for each baby
by name, that they would grow strong and healthy. And above all, we prayed that each one of
them would come to know the Lord in an intimate and personal way. Please keep these precious children in your
prayers.
If you want
to learn more about Casa Jackson, or send supplies to the children they care
for, please visit their website at http://www.casajackson.org/
“Have you
not known?
Have you
not heard?
The
everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator
of the ends of the earth,
Neither
faints nor is weary.
His
understanding is unsearchable.
He gives
power to the weak,
And to
those who have no might
He
increases strength.
Even the
youths shall faint and be weary,
And the
young men shall utterly fall,
But those
who wait on the Lord
Shall renew
their strength;
They shall
mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall
run and not be weary,
They shall
walk and not faint.”
Isaiah
40:28-31
Thank you
Jesus…
