Just as you do unto the least of these... Love - Part 6

I feel really overwhelmed to be the one telling the story of the little girl we call "Love." While this is quite an honor for me, I have not been able to give Love the repsect she deserves - at least not in these posts. I feel like I have left my daughter in Swaziland. There. I said it. I have learned to love her even more since we have been apart. I have watched videos of her over and over and over again. I have looked at pictures of her over and over and over. And I have missed her over and over and over.

Love is an intruiging young lady. She is inquisitive. She likes to know what is going on around her. I believe she tries to be strong for the her three 'sisters' but she also longs to be held and protected. The afternoon we cleaned her up and put the new clothes on her is the day she slumbered in my arms. She felt safe enough to sleep. And it was a very deep sleep. She drooled all over my left arm! I was proud to have experienced that. Love is also very smart. She picked up on words and actions. She knew right away if I liked or disliked something. She wants to do well. She wants to please. I know she didn't like me making her walk across the field as she kicked the soccer ball. I know she didn't like me making her walk across a ditch instead of carrying her. I know that she didn't like me holding and loving on anyone else when she was around. My heart wishes I would have held her longer. But my gut and head tells me I did the right thing to make her move around and be independent. In a culture where survival is the first thought of the day, children like Love and the three other girls don't have a very good chance of seeing adulthood. Unless we commit to compassionate action and actively support organizations like AIM and Children's HopeChest - unless we are to take our faith literally - then there is no hope for this generation.

We believe in Kriek and Jumbo and Dennis and the D-team. We believe in Seth Barnes and the AIM staff in Swaziland. We believe in Tom Davis and Children's HopeChest. We know that God's work is happening at the carepoints and in the mud hut that Love calls home.

Now, more about Love. Through discussions with people from the community and through our own observations, here is what we know: Love has been sexually abused.

She has been physically abused. Love has been neglected and she is malnourished. A physician who has seen a video of her feels that she is parasitic. Her baby teeth are severely damaged and/or rotten. She has some type of neurological damage. As you can see from the video, there are challenges with her right eye and with the right side of her face. Although the flesh wounds on the right side of her head are healing, it is obvious she received blunt force trauma to her little head. Her tongue twists upside down most of the time. She has scars all over her little body. She has been burned on two places on her head and on her lower back. She was born prematurely. Her little head, as you can see, is not proportionate with the rest of her body. Big head = big brains is what I told her :-) because that is what my Momma always told me. She has had some type of surgery on her left hip which has left her with a chunk of flesh missing and a limp that pains me to see. We don't know whether she is HIV positive or not. God, help her.

All of this and we still have faith. We still have hope. We still have Love. And we have the sincere word of Kriek, Jumbo and Dennis that they will take care of these four little girls. These challenges are things that can be helped. At least there is hope.

The last video of Love is of her washing her hands as they prepare to eat the last meal of the day. She took longer to wash her little hands than the rest of the children. I think that has to do with me being at the bucket. I offered her an encouraging word, and, although she didn't understand what the word meant, she could tell it was encouraging. She has probably never been called a "Good Girl" by anyone before. I just wonder if she has ever been praised? The investment of going on mission pays eternal dividends! God had us at this place at this specific time to show us something and to have us share his love and compassion with the people of Thulwane. We are forever changed. God invested in us and we have the responsibility to water those planted seeds and to cultivate the garden.

In John 7: 37-38 we are told this: 37. On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink." 38. "He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. " NKJV

Matthew 25: 34-40 came to life through this campaign. This piece of scripture is God's plan for us. It is His foundation for the world. Let's live it together!

Love is an inspiration. Her love has called me and many others to action. We have not forgotten you, my Sweet Love. We have not forgotten.