Remember a year ago when I asked you to pray for a little baby who was born premature to a mother who had committed adultery? She was shamed by her family, was not responsive to the baby’s cries for milk, and was considering running away or giving the baby to the orphanage. A week after he was born, baby A. gained any weight and I took him and his mother to a clinic to get some help. We didn’t know if he would live or die. My friend and I had opportunities to love this mother and baby in very practical ways as well as share the gospel with her.
Fast forward a year. (Can it really already be a full year?!) The mother is now my language partner and helps others in town with language as well. God has shown himself faithful to her, although she refuses to pursue the truths we continue to present about sin, forgiveness, God’s love through Jesus and his provision for her.
We celebrated baby A’s first birthday in a subdued sort of way; he recently spent days in the hospital and is malnourished as a result of the sickness. His birthday was a celebration of God’s faithfulness in sustaining him this past year, but also a somber time as we recognized he has a long way to go before he has a chance of surviving past early childhood.
We ate banana cake and talked about prescription doses. We read Scripture with his family and gave gifts of new clothes, but also gave eggs, bananas, avocadoes and other nourishing foods to get him well. A week or so after his birthday, he was officially diagnosed as malnourished and is receiving a supplement to help him gain quickly. In addition to the extra food we try to give during the week, he gained a good amount in one wee and will continue on this regimen for a while.
A’s family is still not ready to embrace the gospel, but my prayer for this little boy and his family is that they will one day have a wonderful testimony to share of God’s relentless love for them through Jesus. Pray with me for A and his mother and family to lay aside their sinfulness and embrace the God of Scripture – a loving, just, holy God.
Pictures below:
Left – Calla Grace (3 months) next to baby A (almost one year).
Right – Baby A at his birthday party.
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Josh L
Thank y’all so much for doing this blog! I know life is busy and hard there, and it would be easy to say, “we don’t have time”.