Pay It Forward

Baby Tracey was admitted to the hospital in Lira not long after I first saw her at the Otwal Health Centre. You may recall my desperate prayer request posted on this blog previously. Tracey was severely malnourished and vomiting regularly. She spent the first two weeks in the hospital being treated with various antibiotics and not improving at all. She weighed only 1.9 kgs (4 lbs 3 oz) and despite the treatment was not gaining any weight at all. Jackson, our operations manager, was at the hospital every day, asking the nurses about her condition and encouraging the mother to not lose hope. It was a constant battle. We were concerned that the staff at the hospital was giving up on her. Two weeks into her stay the lead physician finally came to assess Tracey’s situation and determined that she needed intestinal surgery. We prayed fervently for this tiny child of God-that He would hold her and sustain her through this surgery. We were truly rejoicing when we heard that she not only survived the surgery, but finally began to improve.

Throughout this journey we were constantly encouraging the mother to love this baby and not give up hope. It was a hard road to walk because it seemed that she had distanced herself from Tracey as though she was afraid to love any more deeply, knowing that she may lose this precious child.

On my last day in Lira, I wanted to visit Tracey one more time. Amazingly, not only did I get to see her, but I got to be there as she was discharged from the hospital! I was able to hold this little one, who had made definite improvement. I was so aware of God’s grace to allow me to see the impact that we had been able to make in this baby’s life. As we drove the family to the nearby bus station to get transportation back to their village, Jackson talked with Tracey’s parents. They kept asking him what they could do to repay us. Jackson told them “when you go home tell the people in your village 'this baby is alive because of the power of Jesus Christ’”. When they asked again what they could do, Jackson told them, “The next time you see someone in need, hurting or dying, don’t forget what was done for you. Love them and support them as you have been supported.”

Something changed in Eunice, Tracey’s mom, that day. She held her baby closer, looked at her with different eyes. I think she finally allowed herself to love again.

Please continue to pray for Tracey and her parents. Her life is still so fragile as she still weighs only 2.2 kgs (4 lbs 13 oz). Pray that the love of Jesus Christ that they’ve experienced will continue to grow in them and through them.

Baby Tracey with chubby cheeks now. Looking so much healthier!